Remember the glory days of 2018 moviegoing? Those with MoviePass can now relive the rise and fall of the company that offered customers a subscription service to watch one movie a day for the price of just $9.95 a month with a new documentary. MoviePass, MovieCrash, which premiered at SXSW, now has its first trailer ahead of an HBO and Max debut at the end of the month.
Company co-founder Stacy Spikes was interviewed by John Fink for The Film Stage on the subject of the company’s relaunch after their business model proved unsustainable, the state of the movie industry today, and his memoir Black Founder. In his review of MoviePass, MovieCrash, Fink recommends Spikes’ book as an alternative to the film, which he calls “a detailed overview that is at times a little too dry to find the irony and injustice at the core of this story.”
Here’s the full synopsis: “MoviePass was a movie lover’s dream, offering access to movie theater tickets at a discounted monthly subscription rate. In 2017, with a “too good to be true” promotional deal of $9.95 a month, subscriptions exploded, the company’s stock soared, and investors rushed to get in on the venture. In 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 beloved by cinema-goers, exploring the visionary mission of its entrepreneur co-founders, its impressive early successes, and its precipitous downfall caused by mismanagement and corporate greed.”
MoviePass, MovieCrash, directed by award-winning filmmaker Muta’Ali (HBO’s “Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn”), debuts Wednesday, May 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.
Check out the trailer below:
