MoviePass Parent CEO Bids to Buy Shuttered Service, Take it Private

Sharon Waxman and Trey Williams

MoviePass may not be done just yet. The CEO of Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc, parent company of the now-suspended theatrical movie subscription service, resigned on Monday and submitted a bid to buy the company and take it private, he told TheWrap. “I put in an official offer to buy all the assets of Helios and Matheson, which is the owner of MoviePass, MoviePass Films and Moviefone,” Ted Farnsworth told TheWrap. “We’re looking to expedite and be one of the bidders out there. I believe in the brand.” He may need a lot more than belief. After bleeding tens of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of subscribers, MoviePass shut down on Friday, citing an inability to raise additional capital. Also Read: MoviePass to Shutdown Indefinitely on Sept. 14 The problems had been multiplying for months and many observers predicted the demise of a service whose business model seemed untenable: charging $14.95 or less per month to see multiple movies at the theater, when a single ticket costs nearly that much. Beyond that there were technical issues, systematic problems of fraud and stiff competition from rivals like AMC Theatres, which has boasted having surpassed 750,000 subscribers to its own...

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