MoviePass's parent company is slipping after dropping some AMC theaters
- MoviePass decided to pull its service from several AMC theaters on Friday.
- Shares of its parent company, Helios and Matheson, dropped after the news.
- Watch the company's stock move in real time.
Helios and Matheson Information Technology, perhaps best known for its majority stake in MoviePass, is slipping after MoviePass announced it would be pulling its service from several AMC theaters.
Shares of Helios and Matheson are down 3.58% to $8.61 after the reports. AMC was also down about 3.04% on Friday.
In what is only the latest blow in an ongoing battle with the movie theater chain, MoviePass decided to pull its service from 10 AMC-run theaters without prior notice to the company or its customers.
In a statement to Markets Insider, Ted Farnsworth, CEO of Helios and Matheson, claimed that MoviePass currently represents 62% of AMC's operating income, not including concession sales. Including concessions, Farnsworth said MoviePass customers could represent as much as $203.4 million of annual revenue for AMC.
"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," Farnsworth said.
To customers complaining about the closures on Twitter, AMC had a scripted response that hints at the suddenness of the theater restrictions.
"AMC has not restricted MoviePass acceptance at our theatres, nor have we heard from MoviePass about this. MoviePass customers should contact MoviePass for clarification," the tweets say.
MoviePass argues it's boosting sales and revitalizing a dying movie theater industry while some theater chains, like AMC, argue the $9.95 a month price of a MoviePass subscription sets a ceiling that doesn't allow for the companies to set their own prices. AMC has previously tried to block the service but failed.
