Moviepass Investment Thesis

MoviePass, Inc. is an American subscription-based movie ticketing service majority-owned by Helios and Matheson Analytics. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in New York City, the service allows subscribers to purchase up to three movie tickets per month for a monthly fee. The service utilizes a mobile app, where users check in to a cinema and choose a movie and showtime, which results in the cost of the ticket being loaded to a prepaid debit card, which is used to purchase the ticket from the cinema as usual. 

With its new and disruptive approach to the movie theater industry, MoviePass has been at the forefront of a revolution that has spurred competitors and new players to enter the market. In response to MoviePass’ offering, for example, AMC Theaters (the largest cinema operator in the United States) has developed its own subscription plan. Furthermore, other start-ups in the same industry, such as Sinemia, have started to sell similar products as well. Other companies – large or small – entering the market to compete with MoviePass have been a clear indication that MoviePass has set new standards and has been seen as a serious threat to the status quo that has prevailed for decades in the movie theater industry.

EIP has been an early investor in MoviePass since before the price for a subscription was lowered to $9.95, which resulted in user growth from 25,000 to over 3 million subscribers within less than a year, making it the fastest growing subscription service ever. As a company that is enabled by Enterprise Software and run by experienced industry veterans, EIP is looking forward to further establishing a platform that revolutionizes moviegoing for generations to come.

Post-Mortem: MoviePass filed for bankruptcy end of 2019. The company revolutionized the industry and was the first company to bring subscription to movie-going in the US. The business model was validated by AMC and Regal moving into subscription as well. The stumbling block for MoviePass was a combination of unsustainable pricing model, customer fraud and an inability to successfully partner with the major exhibitors.