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By JAMIE TUCKER, consumer technology reporter
It was the greatest deal of the century for movie lovers. MoviePass received rave reviews in its early days.
Subscribers paid $10 a month for the chance to watch one movie every day. If that seemed too good to be true, it wasn’t at first. MoviePass was successful in acquiring at least 3 million members.
It was good while it lasted. MoviePass failed but is trying another return.
This week, former MoviePass subscribers received an email informing them that it will return under new management over Labor Day weekend.
Film critic and former FilmPass subscriber John Ellis was surprised when he opened the email. “My first thought was, you know, I’ve embarrassed you once, fool me twice…” he laughed. “No thanks. Ahh…I almost laughed.”
Ellis said he likes MoviePass and it allows him to see more movies at nearby theaters. At this point it is doubtful that it will work.
“I was going all the time and it started spreading and I started telling people. Everyone kept catching what they were catching, and what was caught wasn’t a sustainable program for them.
For those who don’t remember, here’s how Movie Pass works. The company sent its members a debit card. Every time a subscriber enters a movie theater through the Movie Pass app, the company puts money on the debit card to cover the cost of the ticket.
Despite millions of subscribers and no discounts from movie theater chains, MoviePass was losing $40-45 million.
month, was never profitable.
As it has grown, MoviePass has changed its terms frequently. First raising the price, then limiting when subscribers can use the debit card, and finally deciding which movies and shows to pay for tickets. In 2016, millions of subscribers were lost and MoviePass went bankrupt.
A bankruptcy judge approved the sale of MoviePass to one of its original owners, freeing it up for another run.
If anything good comes out of MoviePass, Ellis said, it has led theater chains to launch their own subscription packages. AMC offers members 3 movies a week for $20 a month.
Regal Cinemas has a similarly great deal at its theaters, which costs $20 per movie a day per month.
“They created the product,” Ellis said of MoviePass. “Movie theaters have shown that it can work, and OK, thanks for the idea. We’ll take this. I’ll see you again.”
Now that those chains have their own membership deals, Ellis said they have no reason to offer any discounts to MoviePass, leading him and other former subscribers to believe the MoviePass sequel would be a box office flop.
MoviePass didn’t provide details about its new plans, but it said on its website that there will be three tiers that cost $10, $20 and $30 a month. The website also says the bundles offer benefits on a points system, but doesn’t say how many movies you can watch or where.
