MoviePass, MovieCrash

[DanaK]

HBO documentary that premieres May 29 at 9pm EDT and streams on Max

Synopsis: In a span of eight years, MoviePass went from being the fastest growing subscription service since Spotify to total bankruptcy, losing over $150 million in 2017 alone. MOVIEPASS, MOVIECRASH chronicles the company's beginnings as an innovative movie ticketing model, exploring the visionary mission of its co-founders, its jaw-dropping early successes and its precipitous downfall caused by mismanagement and corporate greed.

[lasu]

I'll be interested to see this one.  MoviePass was a particularly favorite period of my life.  I have an Alamo pass now which suits me fine, but it was nice when you could go to any theater.

[DanaK]

Full press release http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2024/05/16/hbo-original-documentary-moviepass-moviecrash-debuts-may-29-424511/20240516hbo01/

Trailer

 

[MicheleinPhilly]

I found this fascinating and infuriating in equal measure. I was never a MoviePass subscriber but the concept always interested me. Had it been a thing 10 years earlier, I definitely would have been a devotee. 

Hamet and Stacy are real visionaries and the fact that Ted and Mitch swooped in, took over, took credit, and took all of the money had me foaming at the mouth. They're both scam artists who epitomize the dictum "mediocre white men failing up." 

I'm thrilled that Stacy got his company back. Still won't subscribe as I generally think the moviegoing public are self-absorbed assholes who can't sit down and shut up for 2 hours, but good on him. 

[sugarbaker design]

1 hour ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Still won't subscribe as I generally think the moviegoing public are self-absorbed assholes who can't sit down and shut up for 2 hours,

Not all of us, I swear!

[MicheleinPhilly]

42 minutes ago, sugarbaker design said:

Not all of us, I swear!

Oh, I know. 😉 I'm probably a little TOO precious about it but big, event movies that you MUST see in the theater don't hold all that much appeal for me anyways so I don't feel that I'm missing much by waiting for streaming. 

The last movie I saw in the theater was Tár and a couple 3 or 4 rows behind me talked throughout the WHOLE FUCKING THING. 😤

But if you are a movie fan, I definitely recommend checking out this doc. 

[EtheltoTillie]

I'm going to watch this today.  The economics of this plan never made sense.   If you could go to a movie every day or even once a week, the company would lose its shirt.  This seemed to have been based on the idea of gym members who pay and never attend.  I didn't see that happening here.   This is like that DVD rental company that went broke 20 years ago.  Kozmo.com.  Promised one-hour delivery.

Edited May 31 by EtheltoTillie

[EtheltoTillie]

Watched half and didn’t finish yet. There’s so much more to unpack here as stated by other comments above.  Racism, greed, the empty, phony business of venture capital and stock prices. 

Edited June 1 by EtheltoTillie

[IntrovertRed]

This story was maddening. Ted and Mitch were dirtbagss, but I found myself pissed off mostly at Chris Kelly who brought Mitch in originally. Did he not do any due diligence on Mitch and just took him at his word and media appearances? 

It always amazes me how these guys like Ted and Mitch can get away with pretending to be so much more successful than they really are and no one questions it.  Time and time again, it continually happens. 

I don't often go to the movies, but damned if I'm not tempted to buy a MoviePass membership because I absolutely loved Stacy Spikes and want him to succeed after buying the company back.  He deserves it after all the bullshit that he was put through (Hamet too).

 

Edited June 2 by IntrovertRed

[Makai]

I watched and found it interesting but felt like it wasn’t entirely honest. Like they really wanted to push the good guy versus bad businessman angle and ignored glaring issues with the original concept. It was a great, and completely fair, takedown of Ted and Mitch but the ending painted a completely false picture of the current state of Moviepass. 

If all I knew was what I saw in the documentary, I would have been interested in signing up, but I’ve been following the new Moviepass and it is full of issues and unhappy users. I really hope any who watches and thinks about signing up does research first. 

I also expected them to at least mention that the real lasting impact from Moviepass was how it pushed theater chains to launch their own subscription programs. 

Edited June 2 by Makai

[DanaK]

18 hours ago, Makai said:

I watched and found it interesting but felt like it wasn’t entirely honest. Like they really wanted to push the good guy versus bad businessman angle and ignored glaring issues with the original concept. It was a great, and completely fair, takedown of Ted and Mitch but the ending painted a completely false picture of the current state of Moviepass. 

If all I knew was what I saw in the documentary, I would have been interested in signing up, but I’ve been following the new Moviepass and it is full of issues and unhappy users. I really hope any who watches and thinks about signing up does research first. 

I also expected them to at least mention that the real lasting impact from Moviepass was how it pushed theater chains to launch their own subscription programs. 

I’ve watched the first 30 minutes so far and it seems to me that so far, no one is a good planner because they keep doing stuff without really having a plan first. Did they even talk to AMC Theaters first and get them on board before barreling ahead with using the app at AMC Theaters? It just seems like they keep getting in their own way, including not capping subscriptions so they could have a chance to scale up. Anyway, I’m sure I’ll see more nonsense as I watch more

I have been aware of MoviePass for a few years and it seems like a generally good idea for those who love the movie theater experience. I had no desire to take part as I generally stopped going to the theaters in the last decade or two as I’ve gotten older and as DVDs and streaming have made it possible to just wait for a bit and watch movies in the comfort of your own home. I was kind of amazed that they had a few million subscribers but some really want a move-going experience. But I can’t really imagine patrons end up saving very much if they also get theater food and snacks, which is where the theaters really get you

Edited June 3 by DanaK

[SoMuchTV]

I just finished this, and what surprised me was that they were loading the full price of a ticket onto what’s basically a gift card. I never really looked into it when it was big, but I just assumed they had some kind of deal with theaters for discounted tickets in exchange for increased traffic (and concession sales). 

Still not a movie-goer, but I’ll have to at least look into how the revived system works. 

[DanaK]

I finished it and what a mess of a business, no matter who was in charge. The original founders tried but couldn’t make a go without more money and I’m not sure things would have gone smoothly if they had gone ahead. The new guys in charge spent money like crazy instead of getting the finances under control first and Mitch and Ted ended up settling with the FTC for stuff they did with the business. No wonder the business folded

 

Edited June 3 by DanaK

[DanaK]

I watched the last part back again and it does seem Mitch and Ted’s apparent aim was to get people to buy the stock as a way to enrich the company or themselves really. I guess that may be why they made so much noise and did so many interviews claiming a lot of nonsense and seeming to use the company for their own little piggy bank while letting the losses run amuck. If they had just raised the customer fee to a reasonable amount, they probably could have gone in the black, at least if they were honestly aiming for that. So not only did they settle with the FTC for defrauding the customers, but they also got indicted by the DOJ for defrauding investors and are awaiting trial

 

[MicheleinPhilly]

18 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

I just finished this, and what surprised me was that they were loading the full price of a ticket onto what’s basically a gift card. I never really looked into it when it was big, but I just assumed they had some kind of deal with theaters for discounted tickets in exchange for increased traffic (and concession sales). 

Still not a movie-goer, but I’ll have to at least look into how the revived system works. 

I looked at it after I finished watching the doc. It looks like each month you get a certain number of "credits" depending on how much you pay. Those credits can then be redeemed for movie tickets. I didn't do a deep dive but assume you can get a better value if you're going to a Wednesday matinee 3 weeks after release rather than going on Friday night of opening weekend. 

I have no idea how they determine the formula for credits though or whether it's a good deal for frequent moviegoers. 

[hypnotoad]

Quote

But I can’t really imagine patrons end up saving very much if they also get theater food and snacks, which is where the theaters really get you

Oh I loved moviepass and I used the hell out of it. Once you went to movie, the subscription was paid for. My friend and I ended up seeing a lot of movies at the theater we wouldn't have normally. And since we usually get dinner before, we had no need to get snacks at the theater.

I knew it couldn't last as it was with unlimited movies, so we took advantage for as long as we could!

I found the doc interesting but also annoying. It seemed as if no one had a real plan for this business! I know there is a new moviepass out there now and I did sign up for a bit but there just hasn't been much at the theater to justify the monthly cost, so I cancelled it.

[Irlandesa]

2 hours ago, hypnotoad said:

I found the doc interesting but also annoying. It seemed as if no one had a real plan for this business! I know there is a new moviepass out there now and I did sign up for a bit but there just hasn't been much at the theater to justify the monthly cost, so I cancelled it.

It sounds like the most valuable thing to come from  MoviePass was the location-based charging the founder was talking about. 

But otherwise, I am surprised they didn't predict what would happen if they became a success in a way that actually made money.  The movie theaters would always be able to copy the subscription format and likely undercut their prices.  Obviously, not at the price where they were losing money but the price they'd need to have to be profitable.

[merylinkid]

Just watched it.    

I had sympathy for Stacy right up until he complained -- all our stock options were worthless.    Not they destroyed something that could have been good.   Not they destroyed something that I built.   But oh no my paper fortune is worth less than the paper it was on.   

Not sure who it was (wasn't paying attention real well) might have been Ted might have been Mitch -- everyone has a role to play not everyone gets to go hang with celebrities.    Hmmm amazing how your role was never to stay behind in the office doing actual work while others hung with celebrities.  

 

[Makai]

On 6/3/2024 at 9:50 AM, MicheleinPhilly said:

I looked at it after I finished watching the doc. It looks like each month you get a certain number of "credits" depending on how much you pay. Those credits can then be redeemed for movie tickets. I didn't do a deep dive but assume you can get a better value if you're going to a Wednesday matinee 3 weeks after release rather than going on Friday night of opening weekend. 

I have no idea how they determine the formula for credits though or whether it's a good deal for frequent moviegoers. 

I’ve been checking how many credits a showing costs for the last week (which only can be done through the app) and I can’t see it being worth it for anyone. The $9.99 tier would get me 1.2 to 1.5 movies on weekday mornings and 1.06 movies on Saturday. Although a Saturday night for the new Bad Boys movie that just released is the exact same value as the Saturday matinee tickets so it might be a decent deal for anyone who regularly goes to non-matinee showings. According to Reddit the values and availability can change with no warning. And you can only by same day tickets.

It’s also noteworthy that the number of movie times available has decreased substantially at my local theater from early in the week until today. I’m not sure if that’s normal or if the publicity from the documentary has caused them to restrict availability. 

[Gharlane]