Failed 2020

    MoviePass

    Selling a product below cost without a clear path to monetization is not a business model—it's a liquidation event.

    Founded → Closed

    2011 → 2020

    Funding Raised

    $300M

    Industry

    Entertainment

    Country

    USA

    IdeaProof AI Failure Score

    85/100
    Market Fit RiskBurn Rate RiskFounder Risk
    Market Fit Risk
    70
    Burn Rate Risk
    99
    Founder Risk
    50

    Full Analysis

    MoviePass offered unlimited movie theater tickets for $9.95/month—far below the cost of a single ticket. The plan was to attract millions of subscribers, then monetize through data and theater partnerships. At its peak, MoviePass had 3 million subscribers but was hemorrhaging cash: buying tickets at full price ($12-15) and selling access for $10/month. The company burned through $40M per month at peak subscriber growth. Theaters refused to partner, data monetization never materialized, and the company ran out of cash. The lesson: "grow now, monetize later" only works if there's a realistic monetization path. MoviePass had none.

    Could This Failure Have Been Prevented?

    IdeaProof's AI validates market demand, competitive positioning, and business model viability in minutes — catching the exact issues that sank MoviePass.