Posted Tue Jul 31, 2018 at 03:20 PM PDT by Steven Cohen
The subscription movie ticket service is implementing changes as it struggles to stay in business.
MoviePass has announced plans to enact a price increase for its standard movie-per-day plan. The company will raise the monthly fee to $14.95 from the current $9.95 cost within the next 30 days. In addition, the service is also implementing new restrictions on tickets for wide-release films. The changes come amid reports of severe financial woes for the company, placing its future in doubt.
"These changes are meant to protect the longevity of our company and prevent abuse of the service. While no one likes change, these are essential steps to continue providing the most attractive subscription service in the industry. Our community has shown an immense amount of enthusiasm over the past year, and we trust that they will continue to share our vision to reinvigorate the movie industry," said Mitch Lowe, MoviePass CEO.
As part of the service's cost reduction plan, MoviePass will now limit ticket availability for Blockbuster films. The restriction will apply to first run movies opening on 1,000+ screens during their first two weeks of release. With that said, studios can opt to increase ticket allotments for specific films through special promotions with MoviePass. Meanwhile, the company will also continue to implement and refine its Peak Pricing program which charges an extra fee for select movies when certain showtimes are in demand.
"Over the past year, we challenged an entrenched industry while maintaining the financially transparent records of a publicly traded company. We believe that the measures we began rolling out last week will immediately reduce cash burn by 60% and will continue to generate lower funding needs in the future," said Ted Farnsworth, Chairman and CEO of Helios.
MoviePass allows subscribers to see one 2D movie per day. After signing up for the MoviePass Unlimited plan, users are sent a special MoviePass debit card. Customers can then select a theater and movie showtime from the MoviePass app. Once a user's smartphone GPS registers within 100 yards of the selected theater, subscribers can then check-in for the film they want to see. Credit is then transferred to the MoviePass debit card which can then be used to buy the ticket. Over 91% of theaters in the US currently work with MoviePass, but some chains have been attempting to limit their support, including AMC.
On that note, AMC recently launched its own rival movie ticket subscription service dubbed AMC Stubs A-List. The platform allows users to see three movies in any format at any AMC theater per week for $20 a month.
Sources: MoviePass via BusinessWire
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