Some MoviePass users are upset that they can't access Mission Impossible - Fallout.
MoviePass subscribers are reporting that they can’t see Mission Impossible – Fallout while using the app. What gives?
Deadline confirmed that it’s heard multiple reports of subscribers who say they were unable to purchase tickets to the hit Tom Cruise movie on the weekend of July 27, 2018. Deadline reported that the outage is affecting “big chain theaters like AMC, Regal and Cinemark” and “only at MoviePass partner theaters such as Landmark.”
However, people were able to purchase tickets to other hit movies, like Equalizer 2. It’s easy to find examples of people complaining about the Mission Impossible problem on social media. They say getting tickets to the blockbuster is… a mission impossible. Here are some examples:
Hey @MoviePass, why can’t I check in for Mission Impossible: Fallout? It’s blacked out! And it’s a 2D screening!!! WTF?!?!?!?
@MoviePass any idea why mission: impossible — fallout is grayed out on my app? I get the surge pricing, but having not seen it yet, I’m not sure why I don’t even have the option to see it.
MoviePass responded to one angry consumer on Twitter, writing, “We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience. Mission Impossible will remain available in our e-ticketing theaters. It will also be available at some point in theaters during its theatrical run with and without Peak Pricing depending on demand.”
Here’s what you need to know:
The Company’s Service Was Disrupted When it Ran Out of Money & It Says All Movies Won’t Be Available
@MoviePass why can’t I see @MissionFilm’s Mission Impossible fallout in any theatre in my city? I prepaid for a year so how can you change contract terms? Kind of defeats Any Movie, Any Theater, Anywhere.
What is MoviePass? It “allows users to pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee in exchange for one movie ticket per day,” Vanity Fair reports.
The platform had a financial crisis right before the Mission Impossible issue surfaced.
According to Verge, the MoneyPass service “was disrupted because the company ran out of money.” The parent company for MoviePass then “borrowed an emergency $5 million from the hedge fund Hudson Bay,” Verge reported.
As a result, a service interruption occurred on July 26, 2018. According to CNN, MoviePass later said it was “now up-and-running with stability at 100%.” CNN reported that the outage occurred because “it couldn’t afford to pay for movie tickets. The company borrowed $5 million in cash Friday to pay its merchant and fulfillment processors.”
MoviePass released a lengthy statement trying to explain the service interruption and admitting that it occurred. The statement, which can be found on the MoviePass website, says in part, “First, we sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused from the temporary outage in the app over the past day. We have handled the issues on the back-end, and our app is now up-and-running with stability at 100%. We thank you for your patience and your ongoing support.”
The statement continued: “This month, we introduced demand-based pricing to MoviePass. The first of those features, Peak Pricing, has rolled out nationally. Bring-a-Guest and Premium Features (ie., upgrades IMAX 2D & 3D, RealD, and more) will begin rolling out soon. We will continue to refine Peak Pricing and adjust the algorithm to take into account a lot of the feedback we’ve received in the past couple of weeks, and we thank you for your patience as we continue to evolve MoviePass into the best low-cost option in entertainment. Together, we are reviving moviegoing – and everything that goes along with it.”
The company then explained that some movies wouldn’t be available and claimed that’s true of other sites too.
“As we’ve shared with you before, rather than raise the price of the subscription, we’ve decided to enable all of you to have the choice between high value (ability to see up to one movie a day) at a low cost ($9.95) versus the flexibility to see whichever movie you want, wherever and whenever you want to see it. In other words, you can choose to see a movie in high demand on Opening Weekend for a small additional surcharge, or wait to see a popular movie a bit later in its theatrical run at no additional cost,” MoviePass wrote.
“As we continue to evolve the service, certain movies may not always be available in every theater on our platform. This is no different than other in-home streaming options that often don’t carry the latest shows or movies that may be available on other services. For example, you can’t ever find Game of Thrones on Netflix, nor is Season 4 of Schitt’s Creek available there yet. Here at MoviePass, we have strived to make every movie in theaters available to you as part of your subscription, and Peak Pricing has allowed – and will continue to allow – us to do so.”
You can read the full MoviePass statement here.