MoviePass was once a great way to watch movies as often as you wanted.
For $10 a month, you received a card that let you watch as many movies as you wanted. After the FTC exposed how poorly run MoviePass was and how it targeted heavy users, MoivePass died and was replaced by major movie theaters’ versions of the monthly pass.
Then, from a shallow grave, MoviePass rose from the grave to announce its public return on Aug. 25 with a new tiered pricing system.
Business Insider reports that the subscription service will open with a waitlist. It will be posted on its website at 9 a.m. ET for movie lovers to add their names with the chance to join the beta version. The waitlist will be open for five days and will be free to sign up.
MoviePass's beta version launches on Labor DayCredit: Bloomberg via Getty Images
You better be quick if you want to make the cut. MoviePass will accept new users to its beta version on a first-served basis. You’ll be notified on Labor Day if you were accepted. Unlike the original MoviePass, you no longer will be able to have an unlimited viewing option during the beta version.
The successful applicants will get to choose between three subscription price tiers for their future movie-watching experience. The prices will range between $10, $20, or $30 a month which defines how many credits to cash each user has per month.
What these tiers will offer is unclear at the moment, but we hope that the new subscription service will be worth it. We do know that customers will be able to receive more credits to cash by watching ads and having their eyeballs tracked.
Stacey Spikes, the co-founder of MoviePass, outlined the revival plans for the service during a panel at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater back in February. According to Deadline, the former studio marketer and his business partners acquired the brand out of bankruptcy and have hired several former employees and engineers to make the rebooted service just as fun and memorable as was in its glory days.
“We’re going to make mistakes,” Spikes said while discussing his new MoviePass plan. “We’re not going to get it right out of the box. It’s going to be trial and error.”
Understandably, many are nervous about the subscription service's revival. While MoviePass will be great for theaters by bringing in audiences after attendance drastically dipped during and after the pandemic, there is a huge lack of trust with the public after the events of the previous version.
It’s also difficult to see the relevance of MoviePass with lots of theaters having their own loyalty programs, like AMC Stubs. We will only know how successful the beta version of MoviePass is after Labor Day.
Are you joining MoviePass’ waitlist? Let us know why in the comments below!
Source: Business Insider
Richard Gere and Uma Thurman in 'Oh, Canada' via Kino Lorber 
Uma Thurman in 'Oh, Canada'via Kino Lorber 
