MoviePass Attempts To Increase Profitability By No Longer Mailing Out Free $500 A Month To Subscribers

NEW YORK—Admitting that this week’s devastating quarterly earnings report necessitated tough decisions on the part of the company, MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe announced plans Thursday to increase profitability by no longer mailing out $500 checks to subscribers every month. “While this decision is sure to be unpopular with users, our internal projections show that not sending them $500 every 30 days will result in annual savings of almost $6,000 per subscriber,” said Lowe, noting that MoviePass’ financial situation was such that sending users as little as $300 per month may not be a sustainable business practice. “It’s tough because this was a cornerstone of our business model and also because people really loved those free checks. But we just can’t seem to turn a profit when the subscription fee we charge is only 99 cents. We thought maybe if we cut out the movie-viewing part entirely and made it a money mailing service it might work, but that didn’t really improve our operating costs.” Lowe assured wary investors that MoviePass would continue to offer 72 months of free service for new subscribers.