For many, MoviePass was an overnight sensation, with a monthly price that seemed too good to be true and a sign that it had the potential to revolutionize the theater industry. The promise of being able to watch as many newly released movies for less than the price of a regular admission ticket was enough to convince most of the public that MoviePass had a game plan.
But a few within the company have long warned of its unsustainable growth. movie pass, movie crash — Director of Muta’Ali’s HBO’s new documentary offers a scathing portrait of how MoviePass executives hell-bent on ignoring all the warning signs that led to its bankruptcy filing in 2020. How the pursuit of super profits can lead to the demise of a company that seems to have everything going well.
movie pass, movie crash The show features interviews with numerous former employees, investors and analysts, all of whom speak candidly about how the company burned through hundreds of millions of dollars in venture capital while trying to make its business model work. But the movie begins with the origin story of Mitch Lowe, the founder of a regional video rental chain who jumped through the entertainment industry to Netflix in the late ’90s before becoming the CEO of MoviePass in 2016.
As Lowe describes how his passion for movies was sparked by watching the films of Alfred Hitchcock as a child psychology, you can hear the traces of a carefully performed performance by the board that aims to convey sincerity. but movie pass, movie crash Using clips from the 1960 horror classic to foreshadow that, somewhat like Norman Bates, Law would one day become infamous for running a troubled business while getting caught up in the chaos of his own delusions.
But before the documentary digs into what went wrong, it shifts the focus to the halcyon days of MoviePass, when the company made headlines as a hot new player poised to revolutionize the theater experience. In the first scene, the staff describe their quest to get more venture capital by reaching 100,000 subscribers, movie pass, movie crash Consider 2016 the most pivotal moment in MoviePass’s history, so much so that it almost feels like this is when the business began. But it’s not until the movie begins to unravel how this mission sends MoviePass into a downward spiral that movie pass, movie crash On to the more interesting story: how two black men — entrepreneur Stacy Spikes and investor Hamet Watt — co-founded the company in 2011.
In news coverage of MoviePass’s rise and fall, Spikes and Watt’s roles in the company were often downplayed, while Lowe was used as the face of the company. initial, movie pass, movie crash It feels a bit like the self-aggrandizing narrative Lowe presented on his TV show when he assured the public of MoviePass’s durability. But by leading with Lowe, movie pass, movie crash Spikes and Watts set the record straight about why they were ousted, and explained how MoviePass’s origins were shaped by a general refusal in the entertainment and tech industries to invest in and trust black founders.
Although the documentary at the time The collaboration with Lowe illustrates the resources white male executives are given to move fast and break things, and it uses Spikes and Watt to highlight how much thought and effort they put into creating MoviePass. Even though they arrived a little later than they should have, Spikes and Watt helped movie pass, movie crash Emphasize how differently things might have turned out if the company’s long-term existence had taken precedence over the ever-increasing desire for growth and profits.
If you follow the news instantly (this wasn’t that long ago), most movie pass, movie crash It sounds familiar, reminding you how loud the hype machine roars when high-profile “innovative” tech startups still have the ability to subsidize their products. But we are now more attuned to the reality that C-suite executives are obsessed with the idea The numbers are rising, igniting piles of cash. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that MoviePass failed. But the document is detailed enough that even a very common business story is worth a look.
movie pass, movie crash Coming to HBO on May 29th.
