MoviePass is expanding its business (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)
MoviePass, the subscription service fighting the good fight to get viewers into movie theaters — perhaps at the expense of its own bottom line — is now part of a growing entertainment mini-conglomerate that sells tickets, acquires films, and now makes them too.
This week, MoviePass’ parent Helios and Matheson Analytics, announced the creation of MoviePass Films with partner Emmett Furla Oasis Films. Helios will owns 51% and EFO 49% of the venture, which will focus on studio-driven content and new film production for theatrical release and other distribution channels. Hollywood veterans Randall Emmett and George Furla will serve as co-CEOs.
EFO also granted Helios and Matheson an exclusive option to acquire its entire film library, which includes Lone Survivor and Broken City, as well as upcoming features like Boss Level with Naomi Watts and Mel Gibson; 2Guns, Escape Plan 2 and Escape Plan 3 starring Sylvester Stallone; and The Irishman with Robert De Niro and, Al Pacino. The goal is to release 12 to 15 films over the next year.
It’s the latest in a stream of news from the company. Early this year at the Sundance Film Festival, MoviePass unveiled MoviePass Ventures, an entity that will acquire films alongside a distributor.
And in April, it bought MovieFone from Oath, formerly known as AOL and now part of Verizon. The iconic service launched in 1989 (and co-founder Russ Leatherman’s greeting, “Hello and welcome MovieFone!” will be forever burned in the brains of early adopters).
MoviePass has been doubling, evening tripling down on the future of theatergoing even as it tinkered, confusingly, with the subscription ticket model that made its name.
Last month it stopped offering its beloved $9.95 monthly fee for one movie a day, moving to a less appealing promotional plan with limited movies but a free trial of iHeartRadio’s All Access on-demand streaming package. The original plan hadn’t semed to make a lot of ecnomic sense. And an auditor raised concerns about the group’s ability to stay in business.
But MoviePass has since restored its original $9.95 deal and is keeping the box office faith. According to Variety, MoviePass believes it will eventually be able to monetize its subscribers through ads, partnerships with theater chains or profiting on the data it collects on them.
“We have envisioned owning and developing our own studio content and using the power of our several million subscribers to bolster the success of the box office for our films. I believe MoviePass Films will accelerate those efforts and demonstrate the power of MoviePass to drive movie theater attendance and downstream sales, for the benefit of moviegoers, movie theaters, studios and the film entertainment ecosystem as a whole,” Mitch Lowe, the CEO of MoviePass, a Netflix co-founder and former Redbox president.
The stock of Helios and Matheson, which acquired MoviePass in the summer of last year, has taken a beating. But at least one major investor sees a solid business proposition. Earlier this week, Citadel Securities disclosed that it has a 5.4% stake in Helios and Matheson Analytics — making it the firm’s second-largest stakeholder.
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