‘MoviePass, MovieCrash’ Trailer: Alleged Fraud Behind Theater Subscription Service Is Untangled

Samantha Bergeson
·2 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

The rise and fall of theater subscription service MoviePass is captured in new HBO documentary “MoviePass, MovieCrash.”

Dubbed “the Netflix of the movie theater” in the trailer, MoviePass was founded by Stacy Spikes and Hamet Watt in 2011 before former CEOs Mitch Lowe and Ted Farnsworth allegedly utilized fraudulent business tactics; the duo were charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a 2022 lawsuit. The lawsuit additionally named ex-MoviePass Vice President Khalid Itum as a defendant, with Itum being accused of submitting false invoices for the company.

More from IndieWire

MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2020 after launching a $9.99 per month subscription in 2017 allowing people to see a movie a day. Upon moving to the $9.99 one movie per day model, subscriptions went from 20,000 to 100,000 users within two days, ultimately capping at more than 3 million subscribers in 2018. Yet the company still lost more than $150 million in 2017 alone. MoviePass filed for bankruptcy in 2019.

The company later relaunched in August 2022 under original founder Spikes and offered subscription price tiers include $10, $20, and $30 options. Each subscription option provides credits to cash in each month to see movies, but unlike MoviePass in its $9.99-per-month concept, there is no option for unlimited viewing. The beta version of the site and its waiting list crashed with over 463,000 subscribers the first day.

“MoviePass, MovieCrash” charts the rise and fall of the various iterations of the brand, with Muta’Ali directing. The documentary feature includes interviews with MoviePass co-founders Spikes and Watt, board member Chris Kelly, former MoviePass CEO Lowe, Business Insider journalists Nathan McAlone and Jason Guerrasio, former FTC director Daniel Kaufman, and former MoviePass employees and subscribers, plus financial analysts.

Unrealistic Ideas and Assemble Media produce the documentary in association with Nightbrain Pictures and Tower Way.

Mark Wahlberg is a producer, along with Stephen Levinson, Archie Gips, Jack Heller, Scott Veltri, Jevon Frank, and David Wendell. Muta’Ali, Jason Guerrasio, Joel Stonington, Nancy Abraham, and Lisa Heller serve as executive producers, while Jennifer Leamy and Javier Quintana co-executive produce. Anna Klein serves as supervising producer.

“MoviePass, MovieCrash” premieres May 29 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. Check out the trailer below.

Best of IndieWire

Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.