Skip to main content

MoviePass cuts daily movies, repeat viewings from its monthly subscription

As the old saying goes, when something seems to be too good to be true, it probably is. That’s been a suspicion about MoviePass, the subscription service that lets you see a movie every day for a low monthly fee. But new updates and restrictions may signal trouble ahead for the upstart startup.

MoviePass has been around since 2011, but when it dropped its monthly fee to less that $10 a month last August, its membership skyrocketed to more than two million subscribers.

The company loses money on virtually every subscription — a lot of money, as it pays full ticket price to the theaters for nearly each movie. Investors and subscribers alike wondered how long it could continue.

There may be an answer, as a MoviePass subscription now only allows four movies per month with its $10 plan. The company calls it a temporary promotion, but when the Hollywood Reporter asked CEO Mitch Lowe if the daily ticket subscription would ever return, he replied, “I don’t know.” Lowe claimed that 88 percent of subscribers see fewer than two movies per month, so he says this change only affects a small number of people. “We just always try different things,” he said. “Every time we try a new promotion, we never put a deadline on it.”

Another change that has some moviegoers irked is disallowing repeat viewings of “select” movies. According to The Verge, MoviePass says the policy “encourages you to enjoy something different,” but the movies on the no-repeat list aren’t specified. There have also been reports of users being required to upload photos of their ticket stubs, ostensibly to prevent fraud.

The new offer also packages in a three-month subscription to iHeart Radio All Access, which consumers must actively opt out of or it automatically converts to a $10-per-month subscription of its own.

As the New York Times reports, MoviePass executives are saying nothing to see here, move along, even as an auditor’s report voiced “substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern.” The company has been losing $20 million a month since September.

“I’m not worried about the viability of MoviePass at all,” said Ted Farnsworth of Helios and Matheson Analytics, which owns the vast majority of the company. “Our customer service has dramatically improved, we’ve worked out the little bugs with the technology, and we have plenty of money to get through the next year.”

“We love the idea that everybody thinks that we’re going to fail. It’s exactly what people told us at Netflix and Redbox,” said Lowe. “And then suddenly they all turned around and realized we were too big to stop.”

Editors' Recommendations

Mark Austin
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Mark’s first encounter with high-tech was a TRS-80. He spent 20 years working for Nintendo and Xbox as a writer and…
NFL games today: schedule, channels, live streams for October 1
Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson run on the field for the Minnesota Vikings.

After three games, the Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles, and the San Francisco 49ers are the only 3-0 teams in the league. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa shot to the front of the MVP race after completing 23 of 26 passes for 309 yards and four touchdowns in a 70-20 victory over the Denver Broncos. Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys were expected to be undefeated heading into Week 4, but the Cardinals had other plans as Arizona pulled off the shocking 28-16 victory.

There are 14 NFL games on the schedule for Sunday, October 1. One of those games will be played in London as part of the NFL's International Series. Below, we have listed times, channels, and live-streaming information for Week 4 games. Football fans can watch every game with a subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube TV. For a limited time, new customers can sign up for a free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket.
Atlanta Falcons at Jacksonville Jaguars start time, channel, and live stream
https://twitter.com/ESPNFrontRow/status/1707472134837039221

Read more
Kansas City Chiefs vs. New York Jets live stream: Watch week 4 of the NFL season for free
Logo for NBC's Sunday Night Football.

After a long offseason, the 2023 NFL regular season is finally underway, which kicked off on September 7 with the Detroit Lions upsetting the Kansas City Chiefs.

Among the many games being played in week 4 is the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the New York Jets. How can you watch it and when will it be played? And is a certain world-famous singer/songwriter (Taylor Swift) going to show up and support her rumored love interest Travis Kelce? Digital Trends has all the answers for you below.

Read more
What’s new on Peacock in October 2023
Three of the critters from Five Nights at Freddy's.

Peacock is one of the last major streamers to embrace day-and-date theatrical and streaming releases. That's why premium Peacock subscribers will be able to watch Five Night's At Freddy's on the same day it hits theaters, and that's just the beginning of what's new on Peacock in October. NBC's fall season has finally arrived, so new episodes of dramas like The Irrational and Quantum Leap are exclusively streaming on Peacock alongside the network's endless supply of Dateline episodes.

Chucky season 3 is also streaming this month, and there's even one more episode of The Continental: From the World of John Wick. And if you love sports, Peacock is packed with NFL Sunday Night games, the World Cup of Rugby, and more live events than you could watch in a lifetime. But nothing's stopping you from trying!

Read more