Facepalm: Let's not sugarcoat the truth: MoviePass is all but dead. Realistically, how many people will be willing to pay 50 percent more per month for the opportunity to no longer be able to see first run movies?
MoviePass is spiraling out of control. After being forced to take out an emergency loan late last week to keep the operation afloat (the effectiveness of which was questionable as service disruptions continued through the weekend), the movie subscription service on Tuesday announced the implementation of "several new measures aimed at accelerating the plan for profitability."
Translation - the service is becoming far less desirable to consumers.
For starters, MoviePass is increasing the cost of its standard plan from $9.95 to $14.95. The change will go into effect within the next 30 days, the company said.
Worse yet, first run movies opening on "1,000+ screens" will be "limited in their availability" during the first two weeks unless otherwise made available on a promotional basis. This change is already rolling out with Mission Impossible 6 being the first flick included in the new policy.
MoviePass said the change was being made "in an effort to maintain the integrity of the MoviePass mission, to enhance discovery and to drive attendance to smaller films and bolster the independent film community."
This is a strategic move by the company to both limit cash burn and stay loyal to its mission to empower the smaller artistic film communities. Major studios will continue to be able to partner with MoviePass to promote their first run films, seeding them with a valuable moviegoing audience.
MoviePass said actions that have been implemented are currently cutting their monthly cash burn rate by 60 percent.
Share value in parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics is down more than 36 percent on the day and is at risk of being delisted from the Nasdaq.