MoviePass is allowing subscribers to see virtually unlimited movies in theaters again — but there are a whole lot of caveats to keep in mind.
The movie subscription service made headlines in 2017 when it announced that for just $9.95 per month, users could see one 2D film in theaters every day. But as essentially giving away free movie tickets took an increasingly significant toll on the company, MoviePass slowly rolled back this promise, first by not letting users see certain movies and eventually by restricting them to three a month rather than one a day.
Now, the original $9.95, one-movie-a-day plan is back, but to get that price, users have to pay for a full year up front, whereas the old version allowed them to go month-to-month. This year commitment might create some concern among subscribers given MoviePass' past unreliability and tendency to frequently change its offerings. You can pay for the plan monthly, but in that case, the price goes up to $14.95. The monthly price will rise to $19.95 after this promotion is over, The Hollywood Reporter writes.
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The description for the plan also notes that "your movie choices may be restricted due to excessive individual usage," with the terms of service saying the company can "limit the selection of movies and/or the time of available movies." MoviePass last summer began locking users out of popular films in order to cut down on its financial losses, and it seems new users have no guarantee they won't face similar limitations. MoviePass simply promised on Tuesday subscribers will have access to a "large selection of blockbusters and independent films," per Deadline, giving them plenty of wiggle room to limit that selection as they see fit.
While there are those who continue to doubt that MoviePass will even be around in another year, Ted Farnsworth, the CEO of parent company Helios and Matheson, told The Wrap, "we're still here, not going anywhere."
