Just days after it was forced to shut down temporarily because of lack of funding, MoviePass is now hoping that removing major film titles from the subscription service could keep it running. This news comes from a source familiar with the matter, according to Business Insider.Â
Last week, the U.S.-based service was forced to stop accepting check-ins for movies. At the time, the company said that “technical issues” were behind the issue. On Friday morning, however, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) told a different story. On Thursday night, Helios and Matheson Analytics, which owns MoviePass, was forced to borrow $5 million in cash because it was unable to make payments.
During an “all-hands” meeting on Monday, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said major movies would no longer be available through the service for the foreseeable future. This would include restrictions on upcoming titles such as “Christopher Robin” and “The Meg.”
When reached for comment for the article, a MoviePass representative referred Business Insider to a Friday statement by Lowe. In that statement, the CEO tried to explain the shifting status by noting:
As we continue to evolve the service, certain movies may not always be available in every theater on our platform. This is no different than other in-home streaming options that often don’t carry the latest shows or movies that may be available on other services. For example, you can’t ever find Game of Thrones on Netflix, nor is Season 4 of Schitt’s Creek available there yet. Here at MoviePass, we have strived to make every movie in theaters available to you as part of your subscription, and Peak Pricing has allowed – and will continue to allow – us to do so.
MoviePass also released this video explaining what Peak Pricing is about:
According to Business Insider, removing major film titles from the service, at least temporarily, could mean “the cash-strapped company would pay millions less.”
The main selling point of MoviePass has been to allow subscribers unlimited tickets for one low price. Because of this, MoviePass could find it challenging to convince current and would-be subscribers to embrace the new restrictions.
We’ll continue to follow this story. Of note, MoviePass is still offering unlimited movies for $9.95 per month.