MoviePass Suspends Services

(RTTNews) - MoviePass, the subscription service that offers subsidized movie tickets, has officially suspended its services, effective September 14th, after struggling to find investment for months.

MoviePass' parent company, Helios & Matheson Analytics (HMNY) last week announced that the movie-ticket subscription service would be shuttered as of Saturday.

"Over the past several months, MoviePass worked hard to relaunch its groundbreaking subscription service and recapitalize the company. While we were able to relaunch the service for some of our subscribers with an improved technology platform, our efforts to recapitalize the company have not been successful to date," CEO Mitch Lowe said in a statement.

MoviePass will provide its subscribers with appropriate refunds for their period of service already paid for. Subscribers will not need to request a refund or contact MoviePass customer service to receive a refund.

Lowe said the company will still seek funding to bring MoviePass back, but is unable to predict if or when the MoviePass service will continue. Lowe also said "there can be no assurance that any such financing will be obtained or available on terms acceptable to the committee."

Meanwhile, Variety reported that Ted Farnsworth has submitted an offer to purchase the struggling subscription service and its parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc.

Financial terms of the offer were not disclosed, but Farnsworth, who served as Helios' chairman and chief executive officer is also looking to buy MoviePass Films, a film production company that the company started in 2018, as well as Moviefone, the movie listing and information service it bought that same year.

"I believe there is great unrealized value in MoviePass and we want to rebuild and make sure it reaches its full potential," Farnsworth said in a statement. "I have always believed in the business model and the brand [former MoviePass CEO] Mitch Lowe and I built at MoviePass. There's tremendous appetite for movie theater ticket subscription."