MoviePass Juices User Growth With Fandor Partnership

MoviePass is partnering with streaming service Fandor to offer customers a discounted subscription option.

According to Tech Crunch, the companies have introduced a limited time offer which includes a one year MoviePass and Fandor subscription for less than $116 per year.

There is a catch, though: While this will lower the MoviePass subscription to $7.95 per month (it’s usually $9.95 per month), customers need to pay the full annual fee upfront to enjoy the savings.

There is no word on when the offer expires. The Fandor subscription will give customers access to more than 5,000 independent films, documentaries, classics, international movies and more.

The deal comes at a time when MoviePass, which grew from 1.5 million to 2 million users in less than one month, has been criticized by both customers and partners.

It pulled out of several AMC locations after the chain refused to negotiate on a revenue-share deal.

“We already know in past testing that MoviePass subscribers are not theater-loyal; they’re happy to drive by a theater that may be closer to a theater that will accept MoviePass because of the MoviePass value,” MoviePass majority owner HMNY’s CEO and Chairman Ted Farnsworth said, regarding the AMC news.

And some customers alleged that they had been kicked off the site because they watched too many movies.

There is also the matter of revenue. While MoviePass claims its users now drive more than 5 percent of the total box office, it is also currently subsidizing the cost of those tickets. The company is working towards generating revenue in other ways, such as charging studios who want to target the site’s customers, taking a percentage of ticket and concessions sales at some theaters, and acquiring movies to boost its own library.

Customers who sign up for the new offer will be billed $115.35 ($7.95 a month plus a $19.95 processing fee) to receive one year of MoviePass and one year of unlimited streaming from Fandor.