The HBO Original documentary has released a trailer for a highly anticipated film, MOVIEPASS, MOVIECRASH, directed by award-winning filmmaker Muta’Ali (HBO’s ‘Yusuf Hawkins: Storm Over Brooklyn’).
In a span of eight years, MoviePass went from being the fastest growing subscription service on Spotify to total bankruptcy, losing over $150 million in 2017 alone. MOVIEPASS, MOVIEECRASH documents the company’s start as an advanced movie ticketing model loved by movie lovers, uncovering the visionary mission of its co-founders, Coco, its impressive early triumphs, and its sudden decline caused by mismanagement and corporate greed.
Movie Pass was a dream for movie lovers, offering discounted monthly subscription rates for movie theater tickets. Subscriptions exploded, the company’s stock soared, and investors rushed to get in on the venture in 2017 when a ‘too good to be true’ promotional offer of $9.95 a month was offered.
The co-founders, who had created the pop culture phenomenon from the ground up, were removed and required to watch from the sidelines as new executives took over. The company’s abrupt closure in 2019 was caused by a combination of extravagance and fraudulent spending, including lavish parties at the Sundance Film Festival, Coachella, and the Cannes Film Festival, and an unsustainable business model.
The movie showcases exclusive interviews with the company’s co-founders, former CEO Mitch Lowe, former employees, investors, subscribers, industry analysts, and the journalists at Business Insider who initially documented the company’s rise and fall of the company. The film also uncovers the outrageous story behind the bold innovators who tried to disrupt the cinema-going paradigm and the key players who, in peddling a false narrative and seeking to fly too high, created a wild ride that ended with hundreds of millions of dollars in lost value and the early demise of the now infamous company.
Featured Participants: Stacy Spikes; Hamet Watt; MoviePass board member Chris Kelly; former CEO of MoviePass Mitch Lowe; Business Insider journalists Nathan McAlone and Jason Guerrasio; former director at the Federal Trade Commission Daniel Kaufman; financial analysts; retail investors; and former MoviePass employees and subscribers.
Credits: HBO Documentary Films presents MOVIEPASS, MOVIECRASH, an Unrealistic Ideas production and an Assemble Media production in association with Nightbrain Pictures and Tower Way. Directed by Muta’Ali; produced by Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Jack Heller, Scott Veltri, Jevon Frank, and David Wendell; executive produced by Muta’Ali, Jason Guerrasio, Joel Stonington; co-executive producers, Jennifer Leamy, and Javier Quintana; For HBO: executive producers, Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller; supervising producer, Anna Klein
MOVIEPASS, MOVIECRASH debuts WEDNESDAY, MAY 29 at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max.