MoviePass has reopened for business: The subscription service is kicking off Memorial Day weekend with new plans starting at $10 a month.
It’s no longer an unlimited model, but the platform lets customers watch up to 30 movies a month at more than 4,000 theaters across the country.
Choose from four available plans: Basic ($10 per month for one to three films), Standard ($20 per month for three to seven films), Premium ($30 per month for five to 11 films), or Pro ($40 per month for 30 films). Prices for Southern California and the New York metro area range from $20 to $60 a month. Members can use their credit-based subscription for tickets at any theater that accepts debit cards.
"By opening up MoviePass to film lovers nationwide, we are expanding our support of the movie theater industry by helping drive traffic to all theaters during the critical summer season," company co-founder and CEO Stacy Spikes said in a statement.
It's been a long and winding road for MoviePass since its 2011 launch. Praised by consumers and criticized by movie theater chains, the service suffered several major setbacks: reports of subscribers being tracked, ever-changing viewing rules, surge pricing, fraud allegations. It eventually closed in September 2019; a bankruptcy filing was made the following year.
Spikes, meanwhile, was fired by parent company HMNY in 2018 for raising concerns about the sustainability of the $10 subscription price. He later purchased the company for an undisclosed sum, with plans to relaunch in 2022.
A beta version became available in September, rolling out slowly across the US based on "level of engagement from the waitlist in each market as well as locations of exhibition partners," the company said last year. Starting this weekend, anyone in the country can sign up to watch the latest blockbusters or fresh indie flicks for less than the average cost of a single ticket.
"Our newly designed service offers our members greater choice and flexibility for how they use their monthly credits," Spikes said, "while continuing to encourage them to watch movies in theaters."
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