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MoviePass Hikes Prices, Limits Access to Blockbusters

It'll be harder to watch summer blockbusters with MoviePass, which announced new measures to cut costs and generate more funds amidst outages and flip flops.

Michael Kan
 & Michael Kan Principal Reporter

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If you want to watch the new Mission: Impossible film, don't expect to do it with MoviePass.

The subscription service is starting to limit tickets for blockbusters films—and it will raise the monthly fee for its $9.95 plan to $14.95.

The changes are part of MoviePass's plan to generate more revenue and cut costs, company parent Helios and Matheson Analytics said on Tuesday. "Through these new steps, the company believes it will be able to compress its timeline to reach profitability," it said in a statement.

The price hike will occur over the next 30 days. The $9.95 plan let MoviePass members watch one new film each day during the month, an insane discount on movie tickets. But clearly, the whole business model couldn't last. Recently, MoviePass has been struggling to pay the bills, which led to a service outage last week. It's also introduced other price tweaks to squeeze more money out of consumers.

The ban on blockbusters applies to movies that open on over 1,000 theaters. Tickets for these films will be limited during the first two weeks they run unless the studio behind the film offers a special promotion. The new cost-cutting measure will start first with Mission: Impossible — Fallout, which hit theaters last week.

"This is a strategic move by the company to both limit cash burn and stay loyal to its mission to empower the smaller artistic film communities," MoviePass said.

The service now has over 3 million members, but how many will stay amid the ongoing cost-cutting measures? "While no one likes change, these are essential steps to continue providing the most attractive subscription service in the industry," MoviePass's CEO Mitch Lowe said in a statement.

UPDATE: MoviePass's CEO elaborated on the upcoming changes in an email to members.

"We must reduce availability for big new-release titles, such as Mission: Impossible — Fallout and other popular new releases, at least for a while as we adjust the business model," he said, adding: "Showtimes that are offered through our service will vary from day to day, and every showtime may not be available. We encourage you to check the MoviePass app for showtimes before you leave for the theater."

About Our Expert

Michael Kan

Michael Kan

Principal Reporter

My Experience

I've been a journalist for over 15 years. I got my start as a schools and cities reporter in Kansas City and joined PCMag in 2017, where I cover satellite internet services, cybersecurity, PC hardware, and more. I'm currently based in San Francisco, but previously spent over five years in China, covering the country's technology sector.

Since 2020, I've covered the launch and explosive growth of SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service, writing 600+ stories on availability and feature launches, but also the regulatory battles over the expansion of satellite constellations, fights with rival providers like AST SpaceMobile and Amazon, and the effort to expand into satellite-based mobile service. I've combed through FCC filings for the latest news and driven to remote corners of California to test Starlink's cellular service.

I also cover cyber threats, from ransomware gangs to the emergence of AI-based malware. In 2024 and 2025, the FTC forced Avast to pay consumers $16.5 million for secretly harvesting and selling their personal information to third-party clients, as revealed in my joint investigation with Motherboard.

I also cover the PC graphics card market. Pandemic-era shortages led me to camp out in front of a Best Buy to get an RTX 3000. I'm now following how the AI-driven memory shortage is impacting the entire consumer electronics market. I'm always eager to learn more, so please jump in the comments with feedback and send me tips.

The Best Tech I've Had:

  • My first video game console: a Nintendo Famicom
  • I loved my Sega Saturn despite PlayStation's popularity.
  • The iPod Video I received as a gift in college
  • Xbox 360 FTW
  • The Galaxy Nexus was the first smartphone I was proud to own.
  • The PC desktop I built in 2013, which still works to this day.

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