Tech

MoviePass Is Shutting Down on September 14

The movie-watching subscription service is shutting down its services on September 14, according to a news wire press release.​
A person opening the MoviePass app.

MoviePass, a movie-watching subscription service that allowed customers to see a maximum of one movie per day for a flat fee of $19.95 per month, is shutting down on September 14, according to a news wire press release.

The press release says that Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc., which owns about 92 percent of MoviePass shares, is attempting to sell the company, and in the meantime, the MoviePass service will be halted indefinitely. The press release notes that it's unclear "if or when" MoviePass will relaunch its services.

The press release also says that "efforts to recapitalize MoviePass™ have not been successful to date."

MoviePass originally offered users to see one movie per day for $9.95 a month. When this became unsustainable, the company restricted the deal to 3 movies per month for the same price. The MoviePass CEO once bragged about tracking customers' location, and after a media fallout, the company promptly disabled location-tracking within the app. The company exposed the unencrypted data of thousands of customers earlier this year, which included credit card numbers. Last year, MoviePass offered people a subscription discount if they refinanced their student loans through the company Laurel Road.