MoviePass, a Black-owned movie-theater subscription service, has received an equity investment from Forecast Labs, a consumer venture group owned by Comcast.
As first reported by Variety, this investment will help MoviePass attract new customers through targeted TV ads using Comcast’s media reach. The financial details were not disclosed.
The company was recently the subject of the HBO series “MoviePass, MovieCrash.”
The Rise, Fall, And Rise of MoviePass
Launched in 2011 by Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt, MoviePass allowed subscribers to buy one movie ticket daily for a monthly fee. Despite gaining over 20,000 subscribers, the company struggled with funding.
Following pressure from investors, Spikes was replaced as CEO by Mitch Lowe, a former Redbox and Netflix exec. 2017 Helios & Matheson bought a controlling stake for $27 million. Spikes was fired in 2018, and Watt was also let go.
Lowe and Helios & Matheson cut MoviePass’ monthly subscription cost to $10, boosting membership to over 3 million by 2018. However, financial issues led to its shutdown in 2019 and bankruptcy in 2020. The execs are currently facing fraud charges.
MoviePass’ Rebirth
In 2021, a New York bankruptcy court allowed Spikes to reacquire MoviePass. Spikes relaunched MoviePass last year and it became profitable for the first time in the company’s history.
The company credits much of its recent growth to AI and machine learning, which make it easier for customers to use the service and find cheap showings.
In an interview with Variety, Stacy Spikes called the investment from Comcast-backed Forecast Labs a “big vote of confidence.”
“They understand how important our mission is to the movie industry, trying to increase foot traffic and make moviegoing more efficient,” he said. “It’s exciting to see a major media company supporting our vision.”
What’s next for MoviePass?
MoviePass now services 3,500 locations across all 50 states and is in talks with other potential investors as part of its latest funding round.
“We see tremendous value in the new MoviePass model and believe our media access can enhance the MoviePass brand and drive new membership growth,” said Arjun Kapur, managing partner at Forecast Labs, per Variety.
Spikes told Variety that MoviePass is talking with other potential investors as part of its latest funding round.
Meanwhile, MoviePass’ co-founder Watt is the CEO of Share Ventures, the venture capital firm he founded in 2019 to invest in healthcare and tech companies.
Photo credit: George Kerrigan
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