MoviePass drops pricing to under $7 per month, if you opt for the annual plan

MoviePass, the subscription service that lets consumers pay a monthly fee to see unlimited movies in theaters across the U.S., is slashing its prices yet again. The company announced today it’s now offering its service for $6.95 per month, down from the current price of $9.95 per month, when customers commit to a one-year subscription plan. That works out to a flat fee of $89.95 annually.

The deal is a limited-time promotion, as opposed to a permanent pricing change, but MoviePass didn’t say how long the offer is valid. However, it is open to both new and existing subscribers – the latter who would receive a 25 percent savings on their current subscription if switching over to the annual plan.

This is not the first time that MoviePass has dropped its pricing.

When the company introduced its $9.95 per month, one-movie-per-day plan this August, down from $15 for 2 movies per month (or more in select markets like L.A. and NYC, and going as high as $50), it saw so many new sign-ups it had trouble meeting demand. Within a couple of days, 150,000 new users joined, and by September, the company said that its number of subscriptions had grown to 400,000.

As of October, MoviePass had grown to over 600,000 subscribers.

It also said its subscriber churn had dropped from 4.2 percent in the first month, to 2.4 percent in month two.

The service is today majority owned by data firm Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (HMNY), after selling a $27 million stake in August. The firm then increased the purchase price in October to $28.5 million, raising its stake to 53.71 percent from 53 percent. In November, HMNY announced plans to raise $100 million to increase its investment even further.

This influx of capital has allowed MoviePass to continue to subsidize the cost of this subscription to the benefit of pass holders, though obviously not profitability at this point. It’s operating in the red while it focuses on growing subscribers.

MoviePass hopes to eventually convince theater owners it’s growing their customer base, so it can be cut in on profits, according to CEO Mitch Lowe, in a report from Variety in August. It also believes it may be able to sell the data collected on its subscribers in the future.

In the meantime, MoviePass is a ridiculously cheap deal for movie-goers. It now works at 91 percent of theaters across the U.S., though not all are happy with the service.

AMC specifically threatened the startup with legal action in August, and announced that MoviePass was “not welcome here.” It said it would try to find a way to opt out, as it believes lowering the cost of ticket prices would devalue the theater-going experience overall.

Others, like Regal and Cinemark, are taking a wait-and-see approach, Lowe earlier said.

“HMNY continues to be the biggest supporter of MoviePass, as it outpaces any other movie theater subscription service and continues to disrupt the movie theater industry,” said Ted Farnsworth, Chairman and CEO of HMNY, in a statement about today’s new, lower pricing. “We look forward to helping MoviePass continue to broaden its reach and modernize the movie theater industry,” he added.

The annual subscription is available now through MoviePass.com