TL19MVPS
Latest
MoviePass is planning to relaunch an unlimited movie plan
MoviePass is once again making changes to its membership plans. The company that has been locked in a cycle of never-ending, often self-inflicted turmoil is reportedly getting ready to re-introduce a version of its unlimited movie plan, according to Variety. The membership level will do away with any limits on how many movies a person can see in a month, but no price for the unlimited plan has been announced. Khalid Itum, the executive vice president of MoviePass, said the plan would arrive next week, so we won't have to wait long for more details.
MoviePass Films signs Bruce Willis for three-movie deal
Despite the ongoing financial troubles plaguing the company and fraud investigations abound, the production arm of MoviePass has signed up Bruce Willis for a three-film run, according to Deadline. The first film of the agreement is called Trauma Center and will start shooting February 2019 in Miami.
MoviePass adds new, more expensive plans for 2019
After an up and down 2018 that saw MoviePass explode with subscribers for its all-you-can-eat filmgoing package and then almost run out of money before finding a profit, it's changing things up as of January 1st, 2019. As explained to USA Today, Variety and the New York Times, starting in January MoviePass will move to a three-tiered subscription system: Select This plan ranges from $10 to $15 (varying depending on the area* -- cheaper in the Midwest vs. more expensive in NYC and LA) and roughly continues the existing $9.95 plan with three movies per month from a limited selection of movies and days to see them. All Access The step-up tier ranges from $15 to $20 and keeps the three movie limit, but subscribers can see any movie they want (at participating theaters), at any time, as long as it's not in 3D. Red Carpet The most expensive plan ranges from $20 to $25 per month, and includes access to one IMAX, 3D or other large-format screening per month as part of the three movies Locations* The pricing differences are split into three zones, with Zone 1 at the minimum level, Zone 2 in between at $3 extra for Select and All-Access and $2 extra for Red Carpet, and Zone 3 at the maximum prices listed above. With the new pricing, MoviePass said it can break even on the cost of tickets, as opposed to its previous business model where it actually lost money when a customer used the plan. Of course, that's the balance that endeared it to customers for a time after it slashed prices last year. One thing it's trying to drum up business is a "Limited-Time Holiday Offer" selling All-Access or Red Carpet plans for a full year up front, with a discount offered to people who want to buy more than one ticket subscription. All-Access is $120 for 12 months and $99 for two or more, while Red Carpet costs $150 for a 12-month package, and $140 if you're buying two or more -- the offer is available starting today. From its inception a few years ago the service had charged $50 and then $35 per month before setting things on fire last year. Now it's tough to see if people will stick around for a package that's not as favorable. Now with a new EVP, Khalid Itum, taking over daily operations from CEO Mitch Lowe, the company is focused on a more normal plan of trying to drive viewers into theaters at previously off-peak times, instead of simply underpinning an advertising operation based on analytics.
MoviePass to spin out from its parent company amid legal woes
If you're in any way familiar with Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY for short), you probably know it only as the owner of MoviePass -- and the company would unsurprisingly like to change that perception. Its board has greenlit a preliminary plan to spin out a subsidiary, MoviePass Entertainment Holdings, that would take control of the shares of both MoviePass Inc. and HMNY's other movie-related assets. The firm isn't shy about the reasoning: it has "become synonymous" with MoviePass ever since taking control of it at the end of 2017, and it believes its "market perception" might improve by spinning out the subscription movie offering. In other words: MoviePass has overshadowed its other businesses, and it wants to remove that close association.
MoviePass parent company under investigation for fraud
MoviePass's owner Helios and Matheson is allegedly under investigation for misleading investors, marking the latest in a series of setbacks for the cinema subscription service. New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood has opened a probe into the company using the anti-fraud statute known as the Martin Act, CNBC has learned.
MoviePass' new funding means it isn't going anywhere just yet
The general opinion of MoviePass has gradually changed over the past year from seeing it as the salvation for movie-goers to waiting for it to shut down. The financially-troubled service has been through a lot of turbulence lately; once it offered a cinema ticket per day for a monthly fee but then had to retroactively switch to just three movies a month. It turns out, however, that the service will stay around a bit longer—that is, as long as the freshly raised $65 million in funding can sustain it.
