The HBO documentary "MoviePass, MovieCrash" is based on Business Insider's award-winning reporting.
HBO Documentary Films
The upcoming HBO documentary, "MoviePass, MovieCrash" chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the movie-ticket subscription company MoviePass.
After gaining millions of subscribers when the company dropped its monthly price to $10 a month back in 2017, MoviePass was hyped as the Netflix for movie theaters as moviegoers headed to their local cineplexes in droves. But it all turned out too good to be true as the company burned through hundreds of millions of dollars, eventually going bankrupt in 2019 (cofounder Stacy Spikes has since relaunched it).
"MoviePass, MovieCrash," based on my award-winning reporting, delves into what was happening behind the scenes at the company that led to its downfall, including the ousting of its cofounders, Spikes and Hamet Watt, and questionable activities done by the company's CEO, Mitch Lowe, and Ted Farnsworth, the head of MoviePass' parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics. (Both Lowe and Farnsworth were charged with securities fraud in 2022 and are awaiting trial.)
"MoviePass, MovieCrash" is produced by Assemble Media and Mark Wahlberg's Unrealistic Ideas ("McMillions"). It debuts Wednesday, May 29 on HBO and will stream on Max.
