New Documentary Reveals How Greed Ruined The Greatest Movie Theater Experience Of All Time
If you want to learn the shocking, even unbelievable true story behind the downfall of the once-ascendant company MoviePass, look no further than MoviePass, MovieCrash, the HBO documentary by filmmaker Muta’Ali Muhammad that’s currently streaming on Max. The film, relating a tale of greed, betrayal, and ambition, pulls no punches while charting the rise and fall of the subscription service famed for providing unlimited movie tickets for a low monthly fee.
All of which precipitated one of the largest scandals in the history of the film industry.
A Simple Business Model At First
Co-founded by African American entrepreneurs Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt, the subscription service envisioned a genuine revolution in the movie-going experience. The concept was as simple as it was innovative: members would binge unlimited movies in theaters simply by paying an affordable monthly subscription.
MoviePass’s simple yet elegant business model sparked a powderkeg, leading to immense success and the brand becoming a household name. It seemed like nothing could go wrong and everything, right.
Be Wary Of A Change In Management
But then Spikes and Watt were shown the door, ousted from the company they founded. Their replacements were Mitch Lowe and Ted Farnsworth, the c-suite leadership of the subscription service’s parent company, Helios, alongside Matheson Analytics.
There are no surprises here: the two were brought on to make more money and assured anyone worried about the shake-up that they would catapult MoviePass to new heights. It’s not quite a spoiler to say that the company reached new lows instead.
A Series Of Poor Investments
Blame Lowe and Farnsworth’s immense mismanagement and reckless spending on the most ostentatious of bling. After enough wasted spending, the company’s spectacular downfall followed. Soon, the brand’s hallmark, the ten-dollar-a-month subscription model, was simply unsustainable.
Meanwhile, the company’s financials imploded.
As the MoviePass documentary amply reveals, the company’s incredible downward trajectory stemmed from shockingly extravagant expenditures and ill-advised decisions. Lavish events led to the company hemorrhaging money; these unbelievable instances of wasted capital include a one-million-dollar Coachella party featuring Dennis Rodman. Equally goofy, a 50 Cent led Cannes Film Festival party dedicated to promoting the roundly panned film Gotti.
The Beginning Of The End
What followed was internal chaos, technical issues, and unbelievably poor customer service (in the trailer to the doc, one of the interviewed subjects remembers receiving feces in the mail from a disgruntled customer). Helios and Farnsworth’s losses had amounted to more than $150 million by 2017, though the downswing did not stop the executives from pulling the wool over investors’ eyes, as well as the public’s, about the dismal prospects facing MoviePass.
The house of cards couldn’t last much longer, and didn’t. By 2020, the company had filed for bankruptcy. To make matters worse and the story increasingly resemble a legal thriller, the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice launched joint investigations, discovering evidence of fraud. Lowe and Farnsworth ended up facing multiple charges for having deceived investors and customers.
Stream MoviePass, MovieCrash On Max
Ultimately, Muhammed’s documentary shines a fascinating light on the secret, gripping story behind a once-loved and once-great company, a brand that seems to revive movies and get people excitedly back in theaters. Especially through depicting the depressing, anger-inducing story of Spikes and Watts, the film depicts the emotional toll of ruthless corporate culture, where greed plays an outsized role.
To take in the whole fascinating story, stream MoviePass, MovieCrash today.
