Going forward, MoviePass will give you a selection of six films you can choose from and the lineups will change daily. That means you’ll have to regularly check MoviePass’s website to see what films you can watch for free and when.
MoviePass’s latest change is another downer. Going forward, you’ll only be able to use the service on a tight selection of six films, which will change from day to day.
MoviePass announced the change on Thursday, the same day it began instituting another new limit: subscribers on the $9.95 plan are now restricted to watching only three films for free per month. After that, you’ll have to pay up for your film tickets at a discounted price.
The new restrictions come as MoviePass has been struggling to pay the bills. On Tuesday, its parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics reported a $126 million loss in the second quarter.
To turn the business around, the subscription service has been embarking on cost-cutting measures. On Thursday, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe sent an email to customers warning them that on top of all the changes, showtime availability for certain films may also be limited.
« Because actual availability will change daily, we encourage our members to always check the MoviePass app before leaving for the theater, » he said. The service plans on publishing the film lineups at least one week in advance. (Confusingly, the current lineups show options for seven films, not six. However, Lowe’s email says that the service will « offer up to six films to choose from daily. »)
Although the limitations will surely annoy consumers, Lowe promised that MoviePass is preparing to roll out new features to « bring greater value » to its membership base.
If you’re looking to quit MoviePass, be prepared to jump through some hoops. Subcribers on Twitter have reported that canceling your membership isn’t easy and that the service can fail to process your request. However, MoviePass is blaming the problems on software bugs, which it claims to have fixed.
