MoviePass
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| Type of business | Private |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | New York City |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Owner | Helios and Matheson |
| Founder(s) | Stacy Spikes, Hamet Watt |
| CEO | Mitch Lowe |
| Industry | Subscription-based movie ticketing |
| Website | www |
| Users | 2.5 million |
| Launched | 2011 |
MoviePass is an American subscription-based movie ticketing service. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City, the service allows subscribers to purchase a single movie ticket per day for a flat subscription fee per month. The service utilizes a mobile app, where users check-into a cinema and choose a film and showtime, which results in the cost of the ticket being loaded to a prepaid debit card, which is used to purchase the ticket from the cinema as usual.
The service went through several pricing structures following its original invite-only launch (including those limited to 2 or 3 films per month, and "unlimited" plans, with pricing based on market size), before announcing in August 2017 that it would switch to offering a plan with a single film per day priced at $9.95 per month. The change in business model came with the acquisition of a majority stake in the company by an analytics firm, who sought to widen the service's reach so it could collect more information on customer viewing habits.
Since its launch, MoviePass has faced objections from major cinema chains, particularly AMC Theatres, over its business model and sustainability. The 2017 change in business model has been successful in attracting customers; the service reported having 2 million subscribers in February 2018. That same month, the company announced at the Sundance Film Festival that it would also acquire and distribute films under the new subsidiary, MoviePass Ventures.
MoviePass was founded in 2011 by technology and entertainment entrepreneurs Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt. It is backed by major investors including True Ventures, AOL Ventures, WME, NaLa Pictures, Lambert Media, Brian Lee, Diego Berdakin, MJ Eng, Ryan Steelberg and Adam Lilling. The company launched in beta in June 2011 in San Francisco. During initial trials, it encountered resistance from movie theater chains, resulting in the company going on a "temporary hiatus".
At first, MoviePass operated with a voucher system. Members printed a voucher on their home computers and redeemed them for movie tickets at participating cinemas. In August 2011, the company partnered with Hollywood Movie Money to conduct its service through its preexisting voucher program and cinema network. The voucher system was replaced after users complained it was cumbersome. In October 2012, following a national beta test, the service switched to a mobile app and electronically-preloaded prepaid card. While MoviePass claimed the card could be used at all cinemas that accepted major credit cards, there was still some hostility from the industry, including AMC Theatres, who publicly disassociated itself from the service.
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