Movie lovers received some good news after discovering that the movie subscription service MoviePass is gearing up to relaunch over Labor Day weekend.
The original iteration of MoviePass shut down in 2019 after it suffered a series of financial problems, but one of its founders is back with MoviePass 2.0.
The relaunch of the subscription service is currently exclusive to those that signed up on a waitlist between August 25 and 11:59 pm on August 29, according to the company’s website.
“All who join the waitlist will receive priority access to the service and ten friend invites,” read a notice on the same site. “Space is limited; don’t wait. Once the waitlist is closed, the only way to join will be through an invite from a friend.”
The signup period started rockily when the website suffered issues, with the company tweeting a message about their servers being “overwhelmed.” Still, MoviePass CEO and founder Stacy Spikes called it a “good problem to have” and stated optimistically that the company is “drinking from the firehose.”
The overwhelming demand has crashed the MoviePass site servers causing some to receive an error message while trying to join the waitlist. The provider is working to increase capacity to meet demand. Thanks your your patience. We will give an update soon.
— MoviePass (@MoviePass) August 25, 2022
The new platform is set to launch with various $10, $20, or $30 memberships, depending on the vagaries of local retail theater markets, allowing subscription members to receive a certain number of movie credits every month.
Users will first operate as beta testers. They will be able to order movie tickets through the MoviePass app or can wait until they receive their MoviePass card, which can be used at any participating theater that takes MasterCard.
In a Business Insider article, MoviePass stated it has relationships with 25% of theaters nationwide.
MoviePass faced an uphill battle in 2019 as its business model became unsustainable because subscribers were making regular use of its then-offered “unlimited pass,” which left the company on the hook for paying theaters for each time a MoviePass holder came in for a screening.
On a related note, Insider previously reported on a documentary in the works about MoviePass’s rise and fall. Mark Wahlberg’s nonfiction production company, Unrealistic Ideas, is making the film.
