MoviePass cofounder teases that the service is 'exploring the possibility of relaunching soon'

Two years after shutting down, MoviePass has decided now's the perfect time to attempt a comeback.

MoviePass, the subscription service that allowed users to see movies in theaters for a monthly fee, has been acquired out of bankruptcy by its cofounder, Stacy Spikes, Insider reports. "We are thrilled to have it back and are exploring the possibility of relaunching soon," Spikes told Insider.

Originally founded in 2011, MoviePass exploded in popularity in 2017 after announcing a jaw-dropping new price. For just $10 a month, subscribers could see one movie in theaters every day, with MoviePass essentially offering a debit card that customers would use to buy tickets. Considering a single movie ticket can cost more than $10 in major cities, it seemed like an unsustainable business model for MoviePass, and it was. MoviePass later had to limit its offering to three movies per month rather than one a day, and as the company continued to burn through cash, it finally shut down in 2019. Reports later emerged that MoviePass intentionally changed some users' passwords to prevent them from buying tickets in an attempt to save money, leading to an FTC settlement in 2021.

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Though MoviePass has been shut down since 2019, its popularity did inspire theater chains to launch their own versions of the service that are still being offered, including AMC Stubs A-List and Regal Unlimited.

Spikes told Insider his hope is to relaunch MoviePass in 2022, though he didn't provide further information about what this would look like, including what the price of subscriptions would be going forward. This news comes at a time when movie theater attendance still hasn't fully bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, and AMC CEO Adam Aron has acknowledged "we are not yet where we want and need to be." But Spikes told Insider, "We believe, if done properly, theatrical subscription can play an instrumental role in lifting moviegoing attendance to new heights."