MoviePass 2.0 Pops Up With Eye-Tracking, Crypto Promises. 10 Things to Know.

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Movie lovers are sure to remember the original iteration of MoviePass. The service was a major deal for any cinephile; in fact, it was a service that was far too good to be true from the very beginning. The company eventually ran into the ground in 2019 after two years. Well, it looks like MoviePass users can rejoice, as MoviePass 2.0 marks the return of the service, albeit this time with a blockchain spin.

An empty movie theater.
Source: Shutterstock

The new version of MoviePass is stirring up a lot of chatter among both crypto fanatics and theater-goers alike. But what’s different about this reinvigorated service that is going to keep its head above water financially? Here’s everything you need to know about MoviePass 2.0.

MoviePass 2.0 Bridges Blockchain, the Box Office and Your Eyeballs

  • The original MoviePass was a huge venture, and one that promised to be disruptive. However, rather than stirring up a new way to get customers into theater seats, it stirred up chatter about its speedy bankruptcy and too-good-to-be-true financial model.
  • With MoviePass 1.0, users were able to access up to one movie ticket per day. The tickets cost a monthly fee of only about $10. That’s well over two dozen films a month for the cost of less than a single ticket.
  • The model proved transient. The company was spending more money on its customers than it was receiving in fees. Thus, after two years, the company filed for bankruptcy.
  • MoviePass 2.0 comes under new (old) ownership. Original CEO Stacy Spikes — who was fired in 2018, when the company was sold — bought the company back last year for a paltry $14,000.
  • So, what’s different between the old generation of MoviePass and the new one? In true 2022 fashion, the reincarnated company will be based on the blockchain.
  • In its recent unveiling event, Spikes tells investors that the new service will run on crypto credits linked to the blockchain, rather than fees. Users spend these credits to obtain movie tickets, or they can trade the credits with other users for profit.
  • These credits can be earned by users by watching ads on the MoviePass 2.0 mobile app.
  • Spikes says this app will use eyeball-tracking technology to ensure the consumption of the ads. If one looks away from the screen, the ads pause. The executive calls the ads a “transaction between [the user] and the brand,” and that the eye-tracking software ensures this transaction.
  • Of course, with no more free films and these new unavoidable ads, users are waxing poetic about the original version of MoviePass and voicing displeasure at the new model.
  • The launch of the service is coming this summer; thus, investors must wait and see whether it can recapture the same hype as the original.

On the date of publication, Brenden Rearick did not have (either directly or indirectly) any positions in the securities mentioned in this article. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Brenden Rearick is a Financial News Writer for InvestorPlace’s Today’s Market team. He mainly covers digital assets and tech stocks, with a focus on crypto regulation and DeFi.


Article printed from InvestorPlace Media, https://investorplace.com/2022/02/moviepass-2-0-pops-up-with-eye-tracking-crypto-promises-10-things-to-know/.

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