*By Conor White*
MoviePass is raising its monthly subscription price and limiting the movies that customers can see during opening weekends, raising doubts over the struggling entertainment service's future.
The decision to raise the monthly price to almost $15 from $10 shows that the company's business model made it difficult to [pay back exhibitors](https://www.businessinsider.com/moviepass-owner-financial-statement-should-scare-investors-2018-4) for the full-price movie tickets scooped up by the discount service's subscribers, said Jason Guerrasio, senior entertainment reporter at Business Insider.
MoviePass's strategy, which permits subscribers to see more films for less than a full-price ticket, may now be its downfall, Guerrasio said Wednesday during an interview on Cheddar.
The service sold more than a million tickets to "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Black Panther," two of the highest grossing films of all time. "Those are millions and millions of dollars, full ticket prices, that they had to go back and give back to the exhibitor," Guerrasio said.
MoviePass had allowed subscribers to see unlimited films for $10 a month, three films for $8. The new plan caps users' ability to see films on opening weekend if they play in more than 1,000 theaters nationwide. For big titles, subscribers are asked to wait two weeks.
MoviePass's parent company, Helios and Matheson, has been losing $20 million a month since last September, when its shares were trading for more than $2,700. A share is now worth less than a dollar.
MoviePass was founded in 2011, and found a wide audience last summer, when it slashed prices from as much as $50 a month to $10. It had 3 million subscribers in June.
Theater chains have responded aggressively to MoviePass's popularity, and many have launched their own competitive options: AMC now sells "Stubs A-List" subscriptions, which allow moviegoers to see three films a week for $20 a month.
"AMC basically created their service to dig at MoviePass," Guerrasio said. "They had been wanting to do it for years, and then they finally pulled the trigger when MoviePass basically beat at the hornet's nest of AMC, the biggest movie theater company in the world."
Guerrasio said that MoviePass has effectively disrupted the movie-theater business much like the music file-sharing service Napster upended the music business.
"MoviePass, whatever happens to them now, they've definitely started something now that everyone else is going to use," Guerrasio said.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/is-this-the-end-of-moviepass-3).
Cheddar's Kristen Scholer caught up with all-time NBA great Shaquille O'Neal in his hometown of Newark, NJ, working with Icy Hot to repair rundown basketball courts around the country. The Hall of Famer also spoke about the current NBA finals between the Boston Celtics and Golden State Warriors and had a lot of praise for the Warrior's guard Stephen Curry. "He's the greatest shooter of all time. I had a conversation with Stephen A. [Smith], where does he rank? He's a special player. He has his own category," Shaq said.
On this episode of On The Job presented by ADP: Gemma Burgess, CEO of Ferguson Partners, explains what people are looking for in an employer, and how to convey positive work culture to potential employees; Amy Leschke-Kahle, Vice President of Performance Acceleration at The Marcus Buckingham Company, an ADP company, breaks down how encouraging employee engagement and empowering employee voices can benefit every workplace and busts a myth about employee engagement while working from home; Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, discusses Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Jim Huether, CEO of Hyperice, joins Cheddar to discuss Hyperice's new employee mental health initiative, known as the Workplace Alliance, with 100-plus companies to combat the ongoing mental health crisis and how they're taking a hands-on, data-driven approach to the mental health crisis.
Spotify has announced its official Songs of the Summer predictions. Lea Palmieri, a Spotify trend expert and podcast host, joined Cheddar News to break down the acts who made the cut and how. “It's a mix of streaming data charts and also our global curation team," she said. "They're keeping an eye on all of the hottest music." While Harry Styles has recently topped the Spotify charts, Palmieri also addressed the "Feral Girl Summer" trend, which she described as going "moderately wild, having fun, enjoying yourself."
Catching you up on today's top entertainment stories with a recap from the 75th Annual Tony Awards, including red carpet interviews and Jennifer Hudson receiving her EGOT, and "Jurassic World: Dominion" topping the box office.
The Tony Awards made its sensational return to Radio City Music Hal for the first time since 2019. 'A Strange Loop' stole the show, winning Best Musical while Adrianna Debose hosted in the most spectacular way possible. Cheddar News was joined by Broadway Reporter Leigh Scheps to break down the 75th Annual Tony Awards.
U.S. stocks closed Thursday at their lowest levels of the trading day, as investors continue to eye inflation ahead of the May CPI report out Friday. Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist for National Holdings, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
U.S. stocks closed Friday at session lows after May CPI data showed inflation in the U.S. has not peaked and is still rising rapidly. For the week, the S&P fell 5.06%, the Dow lost 4.58%, and the Nasdaq dropped 5.60%, marking the worst week since January for all three major indexes. Mike Zigmont, Head of Trading and Research at Harvest Volatility Management, joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Benefits brokerage, Nava Benefits, raised $40 million in a Series B round. Nava says it's on a mission to fix healthcare, one benefits plan at a time. The startup is working to bring benefits to small business that are normally available to only Fortune 500 companies. Brandon Weber, Co-Founder and CEO of Nava Benefits, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
Auction house Christie's will be presenting "Legacy of the GOAT," which will include a rare Michael Jordan signed rookie card and sneakers. Caitlin Donovan, the vice president of Christie's handbags and accessories department. joined Cheddar News to discuss the special memorabilia selection for the NBA great. "He's been a global phenomenon, so he's really shaped '90s culture and streetwear culture," she said. "And we see bidders from every pocket in the world."
