MoviePass Comes Full Circle With Its New “Uncapped” Movie Plans After A Terrible Start To 2019

If you don’t mind me being a bit crude for a second, the best way to describe MoviePass is to compare it to a  certain illness spread amongst sexually active folks that a surprising number of people have but only shows up for brief periods before disappearing again. And try as you might, no amount of medication can get rid of it. It just sticks around, lurking under the surface. So, here we are, three months into 2019, MoviePass has reappeared and flared up, just to tell everyone that the unlimited movie plan that made people (like me) stupidly fall for back in early 2018 is back, albeit with a couple of key differences.

But before we tackle the latest news, let’s make sure everyone is up to date on the MoviePass saga.

Last year was hardly a banner year for MoviePass and its parent company Helios & Matheson. The subscription service started with a bang, as millions signed up for its $9.95/month plan that allowed them to see a different movie every day as part of the agreement. Of course, they lost a crap ton of money, flirted with bankruptcy, suffered embarrassing outages, endured even more embarrassing headlines, and completely changed up the company’s tiered plans at least three or four times. All to no avail, as the MoviePass continued to be the laughing stock of the film industry and continued to lose more and more money.

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2019 kicked off with MoviePass licking its wounds, but not for long. Just last month, it was revealed that Helios & Matheson lied on its income reports, claiming there were many more subscribers than what actually existed. Even worse, it was Helios & Matheson that had to fess up to their own fraud, leaving people to question just what the hell is actually going on over at this company.

Fast forward to today, and MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe is out there revealing the latest changes to its subscription offerings, which can be summed up by saying that the company is going back to the idea that earned them all this recognition – unlimited movies.

Well, to be more specific, the term MoviePass is using now is “uncapped.” For a limited time, subscribers can pre-pay for a 12-month subscription (at $9.95/month) and receive the ability to watch one movie per day at any of its 30,000 participating theaters. Of course, there are some more restrictions than that, but the basic rules are similar to what the company introduced over a year ago. If you don’t pre-pay, you can pay $14.95/month for the same plan.

After a “limited time” (no specific date is given), MoviePass will up the monthly fee for this “uncapped” plan to $19.95/month, which is similar to what other companies like AMC are offering.

READ MORE: Our 12 New Year’s Wishes & Resolutions For The Film/TV Industry In 2019

One major difference between this new plan and the classic plan is the selection of films. Obviously, this plan only works with 2D films, which isn’t a surprise at all. But there’s also wording in the announcement that the customers will only get to choose from a “large selection of blockbusters and independent films.” This doesn’t sound like the “pick any movie you want to see” plan that everyone loved way back when. It sounds like MoviePass is still going to limit what choices you will have at the multiplex.

“We are – and have been – listening to our subscribers every day, and we understand that an uncapped subscription plan at the $9.95 price point is the most appealing option to our subscribers,” Helios & Matheson CEO Ted Farnsworth said in a press release (via Deadline). “While we’ve had to modify our service a number of times in order to continue delivering a moviegoing experience to our subscribers, with this new offering we are doing everything we can to bring people a version of the service that originally won their hearts. We’re thrilled to introduce this new uncapped plan at a price point that is unbeatable in the industry.”

So, is this new plan going to save the struggling movie ticket subscription company? That remains to be seen, but it’s truly a step in the right direction (at least in the realm of public perception). Unfortunately, there’s a ton of financial issues that plague MoviePass and Helios & Matheson that have yet to be resolved, including the parent company attempting to spin-off the movie business into its own entity.

We could be looking at the first day of the rest of MoviePass’ life or a band-aid on a gunshot wound. Only time will tell. But at this point, much like the illness described above, I wouldn’t be surprised if we get a flare up in the future.