Back in 2011, MoviePass made its debut as a service that let film lovers see one theatrically released movie per day for $30 a month. If that wasn’t a good enough deal for you, that MoviePass price is going to drop dramatically to $9.95 a month, as the company makes a significant shift in its business model.
Via Business Insider, MoviePass has sold a majority stake in the company to Helios and Matheson as part of its new initiative. Essentially, MoviePass subscribers have the freedom to see any film they want at any participating theater (most theaters do participate). The theaters will be paid the full ticket price by MoviePass, while the users simply have to make their monthly subscription payment.
This is a move that is designed to drive new subscribers to the service, and it will probably work in the short term. But is this a sustainable way to run the company? MoviePass’ newest owners, Helios and Matheson have longterm plans “to eventually collect data on viewing behaviors from a large base of moviegoers.” The next phase is to use that data to sell ads directly targeted to users based upon the films that they’ve previously seen through the service. There’s no doubt that it’s a pretty enticing deal for movie lovers. The real question that fans have to ask themselves is: What is my privacy worth?
Will you sign up for MoviePass’ service now that the price is so low? Share your thoughts in the comment section below! And if you’re having trouble deciding what to check out (be it in theaters or at home), here are our favorite films from the first half of 2017.
Images: Universal, 20th Century Fox/Marvel
