MoviePass Launches a New Film Division MoviePass Films
MoviePass is making another big move! Their parent company Helios & Matheson Analytics has launched a new subsidiary called MoviePass Films. They are in the process of acquiring the already existing Emmett Furla Oasis Films, which is a producer of films such as Lone Survivor, Rambo, End of Watch, and more. They will take on the company's current slate of films, on top of the John Travolta John Gotti biopic, which MoviePass is already backing.
Some of the other films that EFO plans on releasing include Boss Level with Naomi Watts and Mel Gibson; 2Guns, Escape Plan 2 and Escape Plan 3 with Sylvester Stallone; and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman starring Robert De Niro and Al Pacino.
MoviePass is acting like they are in a strong position right now and trying to expand their business model. But regardless, Deadline still believes that MoviePass will be out of business soon, especially with the big summer season upon us.
The transaction brings together a known production entity with a company which has riled up the exhibition sector with its fixed-price subscription movie plan and panicked investors, who have seen the parent company stock take a dive. Distribution and exhibition are apt to view this deal with skepticism, akin to rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic. Many veterans of the box office trenches tell Deadline that MoviePass will not be able to weather the intense summer season of scheduled blockbusters, and could soon be out of business.
Under the arrangement, MoviePass Films will be 51%-owned by Helios, with 49% owned by EFO Films. MoviePass Films, according to the official announcement, will focus on "studio-driven content and new film production for theatrical release and other distribution channels."
The game plan for the new venture is to capitalize on the capabilities of MoviePass, which now has more than 3 million subscribers and it is burning through millions of dollars a month trying to add more. That gives MoviePass Films a built-in marketing base, the companies said.
MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe had this to say in a statement:
"To have such a well-known, quality production company join forces with the Helios/MoviePass group of companies is truly remarkable. Since we began disrupting the movie industry with our unprecedented low-cost movie theater subscription service, MoviePass, we have envisioned owning and developing our own studio content and using the power of our several million subscribers to bolster the success of the box office for our films. I believe MoviePass Films will accelerate those efforts and demonstrate the power of MoviePass to drive movie theater attendance and downstream sales, for the benefit of moviegoers, movie theaters, studios and the film entertainment ecosystem as a whole."
Well, I hope they succeed in what they are trying to do and that MoviePass doesn't die like everyone says it will! It will be interesting to see how things play out over the summer.