The MoviePass subscription service has topped the 2 million mark in subscribers — less than a month after reaching the 1.5 million milestone.
“MoviePass is attracting people back to the movie theaters by lowering their cost, which we believe is transformational for the industry,” said Ted Farnsworth, chairman and chief executive officer of parent company Helios and Matheson. “We believe the data MoviePass collects from these two million movie-goers will become an important asset to our partners and the future of the movie industry.”
MoviePass began its growth in August when it lowered the monthly subscription fee from $50 to $9.95. The app allows subscribers to see one movie every day for a month.
“We’re giving people a reason to go back to the movie theaters and they’re going in droves. With awards season here, we hope we can make Hollywood and exhibitors very happy by filling seats with eager audiences,” said Mitch Lowe, chief executive officer. “Based on the dramatic increase in the number of MoviePass subscribers over such a short period of time, we believe MoviePass will continue to grow its subscriber base significantly.”
MoviePass has angered the AMC movie theater chain in the wake of the subscription service’s decision to pull out from 10 of the chain’s busiest multiplexes on Jan. 25. AMC, meanwhile, accused MoviePass of lying about AMC’s finances.
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MoviePass pays theaters the full price for a ticket, so it is in essence subsidizing its users’ moviegoing and losing money each time they check out a film. AMC, the country’s largest chain, threatened legal action against MoviePass in August and predicted that the company would fail because its business model was not sustainable.
AMC chief executive Adam Aron in November told analysts that the theater chain would not participate in a revenue-sharing agreement with MoviePass. “We appreciate their business, but I think it’s also important to make clear that, despite claims they’ve made to the contrary, AMC has absolutely no intention — I repeat, no intention — of sharing any — I repeat, any — of our admissions revenue or our concessions revenue with MoviePass,” he said.
