MoviePass Error Reveals Subscriber Count Uncertainty

The company that owns MoviePass admitted on Tuesday (March 12) they are unsure of how many paying subscribers are using the service.

Bloomberg reported that in a filing, Helios & Matheson Analytics Inc. said it made a mistake in reporting $5.9 million in revenue from suspended subscriptions. In another error, the company reported $700,000 in revenue from terminated subscriptions that Costco had refunded.

The company also admitted to a non-cash error related to accounting derivatives. The revelations altered the company’s Q3 results and led to a discrepancy in the net loss of $8.9 million, for a total of $138.5 million.

MoviePass started as a $9.95-per-month subscription that let customers see a movie every day. That model has changed several times as the company has tried to control ballooning losses. As customers grew more frustrated with the company, cinema chains started offering their own subscription plans.

MoviePass shares were quoted at 1.2 cents in over-the-counter trading on Tuesday (March 12).

In January, the company launched a series of new subscription plans and reintroduced its popular unlimited program. Each of the three new plans offers members three titles each month and a maximum of 36 titles annually, with prices based on geographic location. The Select plan costs between $10 to $15, with options limited to certain titles and certain days. All Access plans are the next level up, while the Red Carpet plan costs between $20 to $25, and includes 3-D or IMAX films.

Khalid Itum, executive VP of MoviePass, told Variety about the reintroduction of the unlimited program, which allowed users to see as many movies as they want each month. Data showed that before the new plans were launched, only 44 percent of customers had a positive impression of MoviePass; that number rose to 59 percent after the news. “I feel like we’re turning a corner,” Itum said at the time.