MoviePass Resurrection Could Face Challenges, Why Subscribers May Be ‘Wary’

The resurrection of Moviepass will bring another film subscription service to the market but, there is no guarantee the company will be successful the second time around if customers can’t move past its 2019 bankruptcy filing.

On Monday, a bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Moviepass to its original co-founder Stacy Spikes. After regaining ownership of the company, Spikes teased the possible relaunching of the subscription service.

“I can confirm that we acquired MoviePass out of bankruptcy on Wednesday,” Spikes said in a statement.

“We are thrilled to have it back and are exploring the possibility of relaunching soon. Our pursuit to reclaim the brand was encouraged by the continued interest from the moviegoing community. We believe, if done properly, theatrical subscription can play an instrumental role in lifting moviegoing attendance to new heights.”

However, becoming a success the second time around may be difficult due to subscribers who are “wary” about the companies’ past inconsistencies and eventual failure.

MoviePass launched in 2017, offering customers one movie pass per day in hopes that subscribers wouldn’t use their subscription that often. Unfortunately for the company, subscribers used their passes frequently, which resulted in the business losing money.

In an attempt to make up for the lost profit, MoviePass often changed the terms of its subscriptions, including cutting the number of films that could be seen in a month.

The company went from having three million subscribers to 225,000 in 2019 and was forced to dismantle.

Now that movie theaters are trying to lure in customers following shutdowns at the height of the pandemic, many cinemas are offering similar subscriptions with more perks, including concession discounts.

Jeff Bock, the senior analyst at Exhibitor Relations, believes the variety of rival subscriptions may cause customers to forgo MoviePass.

“AMC A-List rose from the ashes of Movie Pass and has become essential for many avid moviegoers,” Bock explained.

“It will be difficult to lure current subscribers away considering the plethora of problems MoviePass cardholders encountered. I’m not saying it can’t work, but many potential subscribers will be extremely wary of this sequel.”

While the subscription services can contribute to box office success, Bock believes MoviePass will need to have “a better business plan in place if the company is going to survive long-term.”

A date for the MoviePass relaunch has not been announced, but a new site, iwantmoviepass.com, allows customers to submit their emails to be notified about the official launch.