ORLANDO, Fla. – MoviePass is back and appearing in its second act sooner than we think.
Stacy Spikes, founding CEO of MoviePass, announced in a demonstration Thursday the new service will look different than what was offered before.
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“When we knew we had MoviePass back, we contacted studios, we contacted theaters, we contacted members and we started having a conversation,” Spikes said. “And we took everything that they were saying and put it in a box and said, ‘What does everybody want? What did they not have from the first MoviePass and what do they want from the new MoviePass?’”
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The movie ticket subscription service shut down in 2019 because of financing issues, according to the Associated Press. The initial rate of $10 a month for unlimited movie tickets drew in many subscribers and as financing became a problem, the subscription cost was raised until MoviePass ultimately ended its service.
Spikes said MoviePass 2.0, the revamped service, will offer the following new features:
- Credits
- Roll-over credits
- Bring a friend
- Tradable
- Tiered plans
The tiered plans would better cater to people than the previous subscription.
“What we saw was $10 was a really good starting point for a lot of people who said, ‘I don’t know if I’m going to use it or not. I don’t know how much I’m going to go,’” Spikes said. “And other people were at higher levels in saying, ‘Yeah, I want more.’ Well, the tiered system is going to let different people play at different levels.”
In the demonstration, the showtimes ranged in credits depending on-peak and off-peak times. Theaters will also be able to partner with MoviePass to offer moviegoers exclusive perks and communicate directly with the customer.
Another feature being introduced is PreShow, which will help the subscriber earn extra credits, Spikes said. In the app, PreShow will offer customized advertising based off the movie you’re interested in seeing and “not unlike what you would see when you normally go into a movie theater.”
“Your device uses your own facial detection ... It basically creates a transaction between you and the brand,” he said. During the demonstration, Spikes is viewing the ad on his phone and when he turns away, the video pauses and a prompt pops up asking if he is still there, ensuring the viewer is watching the video to gain credits.
MoviePass is set to relaunch summer 2022.