While Ethan Hunt has been busy trying to prevent nuclear destruction, for MoviePass subscribers, the real impossible mission the last few weeks has been trying to see a movie with the service. MoviePass's financial struggles have led to a rapid succession of changes to the service in an effort to keep it afloat. Another round of restrictions were implemented this weekend that caught MoviePass subscribers off guard and made it even more difficult to use the service. MoviePass is now limiting users to a choice between two movies a day.
Arriving alongside a crash in the service Friday evening, the new restrictions limit MoviePass subscribers to an either/or selection of movies. MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe confirmed the new policy to the New York Post, saying that it was a necessary move to curtail the service and limit how much cash it was expending. He also noted that the two movies available to subscribers might vary from day to day. On Friday, the two films subscribers had to choose from were the admittedly awesome, but two-week-old Mission: Impossible Fallout, and the 13% Tomatometer-boasting horror movie, Slender Man. Throughout the weekend, Slender Man seemed to be the constant, with other films available, but at less than desirable showtimes.
So far, this new restriction has not been communicated to subscribers through the app or via email, leading to vocal frustration online. There also doesn't seem to be any advance indication of what movies will be available each day, leaving subscribers to just hope that what they want to see is available at a theater and time they want to see it. Those who want to use the service to see a revival or an indy film have basically been out of luck.
This is all designed to help MoviePass to survive however it can until mid-September, at which point all of the service's monthly subscribers will have been migrated to the new plan. Under the new plan, for the same low rate subscribers have been paying, they will get three movies a month and discounts on additional tickets instead of the one movie per day offering that drove the service's subscriber count into the millions. In theory, once MoviePass isn't hemorrhaging as much money from subscribers seeing every movie they can, the service will become a bit more stable with hopefully a greater selection of available titles.
MoviePass has remained defiant throughout its struggles, adamant that it will come out the other side of things to be profitable. While that remains to be seen, along with how many subscribers dump the service over the constant changes, those looking for an alternative are not without options. Cinemark's Movie Club and AMC's Stubs A-List programs, both alternatives to MoviePass, have seen their subscriber numbers grow since their launch, further indicating that many consumers favor the subscription model.
Check out our premiere guide to see what movies you may or may not be able to see with MoviePass in the coming months, and for all the latest movie news, stay tuned to CinemaBlend.
