Why Some Are Speculating MoviePass Could Be Coming Back From The Dead

A movie subscription service that charged $9.95 a month for unlimited trips to movie theaters became one of the most talked-about stories of 2017 and 2018. News on Tuesday could bring MoviePass back from the dead.

What Happened: An article from CinemaBlend hinted that MoviePass could be making a return. The news sent shares of Helios and Matheson Analytics HMNY soaring 165%, although the stock still trades for under a penny.

The current Moviepass.com website still has old information and talks about the subscription service shutting down. A new website found at moviepass.ventures says "the movie is about to start." The website features a countdown hinting that an announcement will be made on March 22.

Readers on CinemaBlend seem excited to see the announcement. Sixty-four percent of respondents selected "I'm very interested. MoviePass was awesome." An option for being curious about the announcement came in second place with 27% of votes, while 10% of responders selected "I'm done. Moviepass burned me once already."

Related Link: Too Good To Be True: The Rise And Fall Of Moviepass

Why It's Important: MoviePass was launched in 2011 with a $40 a month subscription service to see one movie per day for the whole month.

By 2017 under the ownership of Helios and Matheson, MoviePass had cut the monthly cost to $9.95 a month and saw subscribers grow from 20,000 to 600,000 in two months. Subscribers hit more than 2 million users in 2018.

The company ended up declaring bankruptcy with reported monthly losses of $20 million and a stock price that plummeted.

MoviePass was a disruptor and showed the demand for movie subscription services. AMC Entertainment AMC and Cinemark Holdings CNK have each launched subscription services for their own theaters. IMAX Corp IMAX shares rose on the MoviePass success with the company’s offerings included in the subscription model from MoviePass.

A revival of the MoviePass service in some form could help theater companies that are hoping to attract fans back to seats when they're cleared to reopen at full capacity in additional states.

HMNY Price Action: Shares of Helios and Matheson were up 166% on Tuesday, closing at $0.0085 per share. More than 1.5 billion shares were traded compared to a 14.3-million average trading volume over the last 100 days.