MoviePass to Rise From the Dead on Labor Day

You have to get on a waitlist to use subscription service, though
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 23, 2022 12:20 PM CDT
MoviePass to Open Its Curtains Once Again
In this Jan. 30, 2018, file photo, a woman uses to her phone to launch the MoviePass app to see what movies are available at the AMC Indianapolis 17 theater in Indianapolis.   (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File)

MoviePass officially went kaput more than two years ago, filing for bankruptcy protection right before the pandemic shuttered movie theaters for a year or more. Now when you head over to the company's website, there's a countdown clock—and it's counting down to Thursday, when you'll be able to add your name to a waiting list for the "beta" relaunch of the movie subscription service, reports NBC News. The waitlist will be open for five days, and everyone who signs up during that period will receive 10 invitations to send to friends. After the waitlist closes, no one else other than those signees and their invited friends will be able to take advantage of the service till further notice.

A MoviePass spokesperson says the launch will take place on Sept. 5, reports the Wall Street Journal. Things will be a little different this time around, however—notably, in that those who sign up won't be able to watch a movie a day in theaters for $9.99 per month, as per the old model. Instead, three pricing tiers will be available, depending on location—the "general" price will be $10, $20, or $30 per month. For each tier, a certain number of credits will be doled out to apply toward watching movies in select theaters. As for what theaters are taking part, the service notes it has partnerships with one quarter of the theaters in the US, reports Insider, which also offers a peek at what the new MoviePass membership card looks like.

MoviePass, which came on the scene in 2011, was unable to sustain the 10-bucks-a-month cost structure. The company shuttered in 2019, with bankruptcy proceedings following the next year. In late 2021, a company owned by MoviePass co-founder and former CEO Stacy Spikes bought the service back, with Spikes vowing to relaunch the once-popular service. Where MoviePass now pops up will depend on consumer interest in the service, as well as where participating theaters are located, the company says. (More MoviePass stories.)

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