MoviePass Changes Again

MoviePass to limit users to three movies per month, won't raise prices

JOEY NOLFI 

After initially announcing plans to hike prices and limit users from attending first-run blockbusters, MoviePass offered a silver lining to disgruntled patrons of its silver screen subscription model.


Citing community response, a desire to create a “sustainable business model,” and combatting a small number of users viewing “a disproportionately large number of movies” as the reasons for its decision, MoviePass — which currently allows customers to see one theatrical release per day for a monthly price — confirmed Monday it will not increase its recurring fee to $14.95 per month. A new pricing plan instead will keep the cost at $9.95 per month, though users will only be able to view three films across the subscription frame.

Peak Pricing and Ticket Verification policies are also being suspended.

MoviePass estimates that 85 percent of its current customer base of more than 3 million users will be unaffected by the shift, as its data shows only 15 percent of existing subscribers see more than four movies per month.

Monday’s announcement does not specify limitations on titles, though it does confirm the new plan “will include many major studio first-run film” when changes take effect with renewals on or after Aug. 15. Annual subscribers won’t be affected until their respective renewal dates.

“We are well aware that during our journey to innovate moviegoing — a form of entertainment that over time has become unaffordable and broken — we’ve encountered many challenges. However, any industry-wide disruption like MoviePass requires a tremendous amount of testing, pivoting, and learning,” CEO Mitch Lowe said in a press statement. “We discovered over several months of research that our customers value a low monthly price above nearly everything else, so we came together to create a plan that delivers what most of our loyal MoviePass fans want, and one that, we believe, will also help to stabilize our business model. While most of our loyal subscribers shared the passion for this new accessible movie experience and experimented fairly, the fact is that a small number have used our business model to a point where it was compromising the business’ long-term stability.”