With the dire financial news and sudden competition from AMC, you would think that MoviePass is on the brink of doom. Well, according to the CEO of Helios & Matheson (parent company of MoviePass), that’s not even close to the case. In fact, get ready for a lot more MoviePass-esque disruption in the future, specifically when it comes to Rotten Tomatoes.
In a keynote address given at the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance event, Ted Farnsworth opened up about the movie subscription service’s future and hinted that the future is looking much brighter than people can imagine.
“You’re going to see a lot of disruption from us in the next 90 days that’s going to flip Hollywood on its ear again,” Farnsworth said (via Deadline).
One of these so-called “disruptions” is a Rotten Tomatoes-like ratings service, which was teased by the CEO. No details were given, but it makes sense that MoviePass would target Rotten Tomatoes, as they are fully aware that reviews and social media can make or break a film. And with the controversy surrounding their alleged tampering of the “Gotti” audience score, it appears that the subscription service wants to utilize audience reviews more than critics.
Now, a Rotten Tomatoes-esque review service is great, but not profitable. So, when does Farnsworth think that profitability will be in MoviePass’ future? The CEO said the service could break even with revenue between $150 million and $180 million from now to year-end. As the report points out, MoviePass reported revenue of $58.5 million last quarter.
One of the major aspects of the subscription service’s profitability is the selling of customer data to studios. It’s no secret that subscribers relinquish their privacy to MoviePass, so that the company can compile and analyze their movie-watching habits. That would, on paper at least, seem very powerful data for studios looking to make money.
Unfortunately, MoviePass hasn’t fully figured out how to monetize it, just yet. “It’s a challenge to put a value on it right now,” Farnsworth conceded. “The studios have embraced us because we have the data. They are getting that data and they are seeing how to better feed the audience.” MoviePass has deals with over a dozen studios for use of the data, but again, no major money has come from it.
As for the future of the company, Farnsworth is highly optimistic, and he says it’s only a matter of time before people recognize the service’s power. Specifically, he says that once they hit 5 million subscribers (a projection they hope to accomplish by end of the year), people will be shocked at MoviePass’ position. “That’s when people are really going to wake up,” he said. “We’ll be controlling a lot of the movies, over 50% of the box office. That’s big-sized studios as well.”
What about AMC and its pesky new subscription service? The executive isn’t concerned. In fact, he completely understands the theater chain’s position. “To be honest with you, if I were in their position, I’d have a full-out war against us, too, because somebody is threatening my everyday business,” he said.