MoviePass, the cinema subscription service that played a major part in introducing U.S. audiences to the subscription model before it limped to an end in the autumn of 2019, has announced that it will relaunch on Labor Day weekend.
MoviePass’ initial launch in 2011 brought the cinema subscription model—in use in some European chains since 2000—to the United States, allowing moviegoers to buy one movie ticket per day for a flat monthly fee. Subsequent years were tumultuous for the company, with internal changes of leadership manifesting in customer-facing changes in pricing and film availability that ultimately eroded public trust. Earlier this year, it was announced that MoviePass would be returning under the leadership of co-founder and former CEO Stacy Spikes, whose initial tenure with the company ended shortly after it was acquired by tech firm Helios & Matheson in 2017.
In the years between Spikes’ co-founding of MoviePass and its 2022 return, the subscription model has evolved rapidly in North America, with many domestic chains introducing their own, company-specific offerings, integrated with their respective loyalty programs; these include the top five largest circuits by screen count.
Details about how the new MoviePass will operate have not yet been made public; the announcement simply states that it will become available on September 5, when those on the waitlist will be able to officially sign up. “Being on the waitlist will be the only way to be able to sign up for the service in the foreseeable future,” writes Spikes in the official announcement, adding that “The engagement from the waitlist will help us to determine which markets we will open first and thereafter.”
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