MoviePass introduces surge pricing for the summer

Starting in July, you might have to pay a little extra to see the newest blockbusters when using MoviePass. The movie subscription service has plans to instate surge pricing for non-annual subscribers starting at $2 for movies and times the app deems “very popular,” Business Insider reports.

This comes one day after AMC announced its plan for a competing movie subscription service called AMC Stubs A-List, coming in June. In MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe’s statement to Business Insider, he seemed unfazed by AMC’s entrance into the subscription game, saying instead it “validates that subscription is really here to stay.”

But for MoviePass to stay, it might have to start changing it business plan. The subscription service’s parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics announced today that MoviePass’ monthly losses soared to $40 million in May. The company also expects its cash deficit to reach $45 million by June. These numbers are in part a reflection of the 545,000 new users who joined the service between May 1st and June 15th.

In addition to a few additional dollars to see the next dinosaur movie or superhero film this summer, MoviePass said it plans to roll out two new programs come August that will bring in a little extra money as well. Starting at the end of August, users will be able to use the app to watch IMAX or Real 3D movies for an additional $2 to $6 and have the option to bring a friend (though, they’ll have to pay almost full price for the additional ticket) through the app. To start, these features will have to be applied to separate films, but MoviePass has plans to combine them.

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