*By Alex Heath* MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe said Wednesday he expects the company to turn a profit in six to nine months, even though it's losing tens of millions of dollars a month and struggling to find a sustainable business model. The company's recent changes to its MoviePass subscription, which limits customers to three movies a month for about $10, will "quickly" lower the company’s burn rate to zero and put it on the path toward profitability, Lowe said in an interview on Cheddar. Most MoviePass subscribers — 85 percent, according to Lowe — see three movies or fewer a month, and 15 percent of MoviePass’s over 3 million subscribers have converted to the new plan introduced Monday. “We know that three works,” Lowe said of the new restriction on the number of movies that subscribers can watch each month. “Three is our last change.” The CEO and former Netflix executive rebuffed concerns that MoviePass could run out of money before the end of the year. The company took out a $6.2 million emergency loan to stay afloat two weeks ago, and said in a July SEC filing that it would seek to raise about $1.2 billion in equity and debt over the next three years. “Our mission is survival and then success,” Lowe said. MoviePass has received "many offers" from "very big media companies" that want to buy its business, according to Lowe. He declined to name any of the companies that have approached MoviePass about an acquisition. A college student-led venture capital firm called Triton Funds recently expressed interest in buying MoviePass, but it's unclear if those talks have progressed. Shares of MoviePass's parent company Helios and Matheson have plunged roughly 99 percent in the last year as MoviePass losses continue to climb. The stock was trading at roughly $0.06 per share on Wednesday, despite the company's attempt to raise the price through a bold reverse stock split in late July. For the full interview with MoviePass's CEO Mitch Lowe, [click here.] (https://cheddar.com/videos/moviepass-ceo-recent-movie-cap-is-final-change-to-subscription-service)

Share:
More In Business
Starbucks’ Change Flushes Out a Debate Over Public Restroom Access
Starbucks’ decision to restrict its restrooms to paying customers has flushed out a wider problem: a patchwork of restroom use policies that varies by state and city. Starbucks announced last week a new code of conduct that says people need to make a purchase if they want to hang out or use the restroom. The coffee chain's policy change for bathroom privileges has left Americans confused and divided over who gets to go and when. The American Restroom Association, a public toilet advocacy group, was among the critics. Rules about restroom access in restaurants vary by state, city and county. The National Retail Federation says private businesses have a right to limit restroom use.
Trump Highlights Partnership Investing $500 Billion in AI
President Donald Trump is talking up a joint venture investing up to $500 billion for infrastructure tied to artificial intelligence by a new partnership formed by OpenAI, Oracle and SoftBank. The new entity, Stargate, will start building out data centers and the electricity generation needed for the further development of the fast-evolving AI in Texas, according to the White House. The initial investment is expected to be $100 billion and could reach five times that sum. While Trump has seized on similar announcements to show that his presidency is boosting the economy, there were already expectations of a massive buildout of data centers and electricity plants needed for the development of AI.
Load More