MoviePass, the failed theater ticket subscription service, is making a comeback with a relaunch slated for this summer. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the revamped service will be available with undisclosed price tiers.
There were rumblings of a relaunch in November 2021, when it was reported that co-founder Stacy Spikes bought the company back out of bankruptcy. Speaking at an event in a theater near New York’s Lincoln Center, Spikes promised a more sustainable model and outlined proposed features the revived service can include–as quoted on Twitter by NY Post Business writer Theo Wayt–the ability to watch ads to earn credits that can be redeemed for free movies.
Presumably a major fan of Clockwork Orange, Spikes reportedly described the feature as “basically creat[ing] a transaction between you and the brand” by tracking your eyeballs to ensure that you’re actually watching ads. Spikes also enthused about “product placement in movies,” adding that he’s “the person that has a notepad and I’m writing down, ‘is that Hugo Boss?'”
Other reports made note of the MoviePass 2.0 keynote opening with a surprisingly honest recap of MovePass 1.0. As NBC reported, Spikes nodded to the financial difficulties that plagued the company’s first act with an image of the Hindenburg disaster on a large screen behind him.
In 2021, the Federal Trade Commission ruled against the former execs of MoviePass, deciding that MoviePass deliberately misled its customers and failed to protect its users’ data.
