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MoviePass CEO is unsure if it will offer a movie-per-day plan again
MoviePass is having a rough time of it. The company's too-good-to-be-true offer of one movie per day for $10 subscription model brought it 500,000 subscribers in one month, but MoviePass' finances show that the startup is struggling while still being dogged by its CEO's comments around tracking his customers. Recently, the company downgraded its available new subscriber plans to a three-month, $30 "limited time" offer that includes four movies per month and a three-month trial of iHeartRadio premium. It seems as if this offer now has no limit; CEO Mitch Lowe told The Hollywood Reporter that he was unsure if the movie-per-day plan would even return as an option. "Do you think you will go back to a movie a day?" a THR reporter asked Lowe at CinemaCon in Las Vegas. "I don't know," he responded.
MoviePass’s finances show that it might be too good to be true
MoviePass seems like a deal that's too good to be true: $9.95 per month allows you to see one 2D movie per week (or up to four per month) in movie theaters. (It's worth noting that this is a change from the company's previous plan, which was one movie per day for the same fee.) Considering that's less than the price of a single movie ticket, it's a pretty great price. But many have wondered how MoviePass will make money; after all, the company is paying theaters full price for movie tickets. Now, Business Insider reports that an external auditor has "substantial doubt about the Company's ability to continue as a going concern" based on MoviePass's 10-K filing.
cPass wants to be the European MoviePass for all entertainment
It might surprise you to learn that MoviePass has been offering unlimited movie tickets as a monthly subscription for over five years now. But the name only really rocketed into the public consciousness last summer, right after the price per month dropped below $10. MoviePass struggled to keep up with the wave of new interest, and its continued rapid growth caught the attention of many. Enter cPass, a new service hoping to fill a MoviePass-shaped hole in Europe. Only it doesn't want to limit itself to movies. Co-founder brothers Puya and Pedram Vahabi hope cPass will become an all-you-can-eat subscription for all kinds of entertainment.
MoviePass teams with iHeartRadio for three-month limited movie plan
MoviePass' various indiscretions with user privacy haven't deterred too many people from subscribing to the service, which just added another 500,000 paying subscribers. The typical $10 per month plan supplies you with one 2D movie per day at any participating theater. Now, MoviePass and iHeartRadio are teaming up to provide a $29.95 three-month plan that limits you to four 2D movies per month but adds a free trial of iHeartRadio's All Access on-demand streaming package.
MoviePass adds Landmark Theatres to its subscription service
MoviePass, the popular cinema subscription service, just added another large theater company to its roster. While some movie theater groups, like Cinemark, have begun to offer their own (far less generous) take on the idea, others are jumping onboard. MoviePass announced its partnership with Landmark Theaters, known for its indie films and noticeably absent from the service. The agreement integrates MoviePass into Landmark Theatres' ticketing system, adding e-ticketing, advanced screening reservations and in-app seat selection to the movie-going experience.
Now MoviePass' CEO says the app never tracked customers
A week after MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe's comments that "we watch how you drive home" came to light, the exec is walking back those words. In an interview with Variety, Lowe said "I said something completely inaccurate as far as what we are doing...We only locate customers when they use the app." Now, the way Lowe describes the app matches its privacy policy, and the way its technology is explained in the company's patent that he referenced during his original statement. So, all good? Maybe, maybe not. While the service's iOS app has been updated to remove an "unused" permission to access location all the time, the title of Lowe's infamous presentation was "Data is the New Oil: How Will MoviePass Monetize It?" Even if it's not tracking user's location over an extended period of time yet, that's certainly a possibility for the future, not to mention what's possible when you combine that data with information from other clearinghouses. Remember, for many of the companies providing free or low-cost services, data greed is good.
The UK is getting a MoviePass clone
It's hard to deny that MoviePass (the service that allows you to see one 2D movie a day in theaters for a set monthly fee) has been a huge hit in the US. That's why it's hardly surprising that the UK has a MoviePass clone of its own in the works. Called cPass, it claims to be the first UK and European movie ticket subscription service, with prices set at £9.95 ($13.83) per month. The service is currently in sign-up mode and hasn't actually launched yet.
MoviePass: The new face of unbridled data greed
In a presentation during the Entertainment Finance Forum last week, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe bragged to the attendees about his company's app saying, "We know all about you." "We know your home address, of course; we know the makeup of that household, the kids, the age groups, the income," he continued. Once more, we're reminded that every app on our phones has the potential to pool various data on us, enough to paint a remarkably accurate portrait of our life. As if to drill that point home, Lowe added: "We watch how you drive from home to the movies. We watch where you go afterward."
MoviePass pulls 'unused app location' features from its iOS app
Two days after we started reporting on comments by MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe about his company tracking users after they leave the theater, there's an update for its iOS app. According to the notes, it contains "Theater & Movie Search performance improvements. Removed unused app location capability." The company hasn't provided a firm denial about whether tracking of regular customers extends beyond what's described by the privacy policy, but something has changed. We checked with MoviePass and received this statement from a spokesperson. Today, MoviePass released a new app update, including the removal of some unused app location capabilities. While part of our vision includes using location-based marketing to enhance the movie-going experience for our members, we aren't using some of that functionality today. Our members will always have the option to choose the location-based services that are right for them today and in the future. So, MoviePass users, are you satisfied?
MoviePass can't answer important location tracking questions
Yesterday it surfaced that MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said -- during a presentation called "Data is the New Oil: How Will MoviePass Monetize It?" -- that his company could watch how subscribers drive home from the movie and see where they went. The setup sounds a lot like the post-ride tracking Uber added and then pulled last year. Media Play News included the quotes in the middle of an article about MoviePass projecting that it will pass 5 million subscribers, and the outlet has since posted a full quote showing exactly what the CEO said.
MoviePass CEO: 'We watch how you drive from home to the movies'
MoviePass' approach to gathering viewer data might raise eyebrows. According to Media Play News, CEO Mitch Lowe told those at a business forum that the movie subscription service's app not only tracks your location, but follows you to and from the theater. "We watch how you drive from home to the movies," he said, adding that "we watch where you go afterwards." Not surprisingly, the company is hoping to understand customer habits and "build a night at the movies." If people tend to have dinner before the movie or to have a drink afterwards, for example, MoviePass could steer customers to restaurants and bars and take a cut of the revenue.
MoviePass blackouts and anti-fraud tests upset some customers
As MoviePass continues to grow its subscriber base, the all-you-can-watch theater card has upset some customers with a pair of recent moves. This week customers complain that they've seen many showings of the new Jennifer Lawrence movie Red Sparrow marked "not supported" by their pass. As Pop Culture Beast theorizes, this could be an attempt to black out certain theaters, drive users to others and prove the service's value as a way of leading traffic to particular movies or locations. While it's a bit harder to see Red Sparrow, MoviePass is pushing Death Wish, which also opened this week.
MoviePass adds 500,000 subscribers within a month
MoviePass' $10-per-month subscription service was a hit from the start, enough to crash the company's website when it was first announced. It looks like demand isn't slowing down anytime soon either: it has gained 500,000 more subscribers merely a month after it reached 1.5 million users. The fact that MoviePass cut off members' access to some popular AMC theaters had little effect, if any. It's easy to see why 2 million would sign up: for 10 bucks a month -- an ongoing promo even cuts the price down to $7.95 -- they're entitled to see one 2D film a day, every day, without paying extra.
MoviePass abruptly cuts off access to several AMC theaters
The $9.95 MoviePass subscription has been incredibly popular and soon the company will invest in films itself, but because the company pays full price for each ticket, it's subsidizing each customer's theater visit. AMC execs called the plan "unsustainable" last fall, leading to today's reports by Deadline and Variety that the service no longer covers visits to several big market AMC theaters: Empire 25 (NYC), Century City 15 and Universal CityWalk 19 (LA), Loews Boston Common 19, River East 21 (Chicago), Disney Springs at Walt Disney World, and Loews Alderwood Mall 16 (WA).
Theater subscription service MoviePass snaps up its first film
MoviePass is wasting no time in making good on its plans to invest in films. The company behind the 'unlimited' theater subscription has snapped up crime caper American Animals for $3 million at Sundance. The move sees it share North American distribution rights for the film with indie studio The Orchard, according to Variety.
MoviePass will invest in films to have a stake in their success
MoviePass' pseudo-unlimited subscription theater service is increasingly popular, but that doesn't mean it's profitable -- it currently has to subsidize tickets, which isn't exactly sustainable in the long run. The company's solution? Secure a stake in the movies themselves. It's launching a MoviePass Ventures subsidiary that will "co-acquire" films alongside distributors. While the details aren't entirely clear, MoviePass expects to benefit from the entire pipeline, whether it's the initial theatrical release, streaming services or in-flight viewing.
People are really into MoviePass’ unlimited cinema subscription
MoviePass, the deal that eliminates the eye-watering cost of going to the flicks, has passed the one million mark in paid subscribers -- not bad for a service that movie chain AMC lambasted as "unsustainable" earlier this year. Film fans can see a movie a day for $9.95 per month, or $6.95 if paid for the year in advance.
Cinemark launches a monthly movie program to rival MoviePass
MoviePass, the $10-per-month movie theater subscription service, was so unexpectedly popular when it launched last August that the company struggled to meet demand. Its success hasn't gone unnoticed, especially by the competition. Theater chain Cinemark is creating its own service, Movie Club, but with far less generous perks. For a $9 monthly subscription, it grants a single ticket (instead of one every day) but also gives 20 percent off concessions and cheaper bulk ticket rates.
MoviePass offers an even bigger discount if you pay for a year upfront
MoviePass is dropping its price point yet again. In August, the company reduced its subscription cost to just $10 per month -- down from $15 to $21 depending on where you lived -- and upped the amount of movies its subscribers could see from two per month to one per day. Now, if you're willing to pay for the whole year up front, you can snag the no contract, subscription for $7 per month.
MoviePass is struggling to keep up with all its new members
Despite the sluggish summer box office, it seems plenty of people are still interested in going to the movies. As long as it comes cheap, that is. Last month, MoviePass launched a $9.95 no contract, unlimited subscription that allows customers access to a standard film (no 3D or IMAX) per day in theaters, without blackouts. The offer was bound to attract a lot of attention. But, no one was prepared for the resulting frenzy (especially not MoviePass). The subscription service claims its website was overwhelmed by the ensuing volume of traffic from interested patrons. And, it's still struggling with the load. Although its site looks like it's running smoothly, it's the card logistics that are causing issues now. That's a big problem. You see, in the absence of a card, you'll have to rely on e-tickets, which are only available at select locations.
