MoviePass users can't see Crazy Rich Asians till Sunday because MP picks the movies now
MoviePass now decides which six movies you can choose from each day. Whee!
Here's Thursday's development in the seeming last gasps of MoviePass: The menu of movies you can select from daily has shrunk to six for your $10 per month. But you can still see three of them! Unfortunately, that means no Crazy Rich Asians until Sunday -- if the beleaguered company can even hold to that promise.
A new limitation in the plan, as posted on the company's site, now says you can "choose from up to six films daily." Ouch. Confusingly, though, there are seven options on the page that displays the daily movie options, though that's probably to accommodate regional availability for movie releases. So don't get excited if you think you'll be able to see CRA on Sunday, when it's only showing in four major cities.
MoviePass declined to comment, instead just pointing us to its Plan Update FAQ which seems to imply this is a temporary development.
For the time being, we will be limiting the films and showtimes that are available to members each day. During this transition period, MoviePass will offer up to six films to choose from daily, including a selection of major studio first-run films and independent releases. In addition, showtime availability may be limited depending on the popularity of those films on the app that particular day.
Every move MoviePass makes seems temporary, though. Shall we repeat the litany about the number of times MoviePass has changed its subscriber plan strategies in its short seven-year life? It was 11 as of Aug. 6, and this makes 12. And the options have shrunk dramatically just over the past year, from a failed flirtation with surge pricing to a $15 per month plan with limited choices that never saw the light of day, to reducing its $10 unlimited plan to three movies per month.
Even that didn't go so well, with MoviePass claiming that cancelled subscriptions magically resubscribing were due to a system glitch. We can only assume that efforts to stave off financial disaster aren't working, and there's more competition now that AMC has rolled out its own $20 per month membership-perk version, Stubs A-List.
Lesser-known movie-subscription service Sinemia takes the opportunity to remind us it exists every time another MoviePass woe surfaces. On Thursday it launched its Refer-a-Friend program, which offers a $10 credit for you and any friend you deliver unto them from "any competing service." And it's not afraid to list Mission: Impossible - Fallout on its list of current movies.
This is a developing story, so check back for updates.
Originally published 11:41 a.m. ET.
Updated 12:24 p.m. ET: Added clarification about the number of movie options and backstory about MoviePass' continuing drama.
Updated 3:47 p.m. ET: Updated with MoviePass' response.