Unhappy ending may be coming for MoviePass

MoviePass was once the fastest rising star in Hollywood.

The New York-based service promised to revolutionize the cinema business by offering something multiplexes have long resisted: steep discounts on the price of movie tickets.

Consumers could watch a movie a day for about $10 a month, but

There are growing signs that the end is near for the popular movie ticket service that billed itself as the Netflix for cinema.

MoviePass bet on what many view as a flawed business model: It pays the full price for each ticket its customers buy. But major theater chains refused to share lucrative concession revenue. And the goal of selling consumer data to studios and distributors never panned out.

Those challenges came to roost Tuesday when MoviePass’ parent company, data firm Helios and Matheson Analytics, announced a series of major changes to keep the service afloat. The firm said the monthly subscription fee would increase to $14.95 from $9.95 in the next 30 days.

The company also said it would cut access to popular new films for their first two weeks in theaters, adding that the moves were aimed at cutting its cash-burn rate by 60 percent.

“These changes are meant to protect the longevity of our company and prevent abuse of the service,” said MoviePass Chief Executive Mitch Lowe. “While no one likes change, these are essential steps to continue providing the most attractive subscription service in the industry.”

In reality, the changes signify a stunning retreat, analysts said.

“Clearly this is not the service that consumers signed up for over the last year,” said Eric Wold, an analyst with B. Riley FBR.

The struggles have unnerved investors. Helios and Matheson’s stock fell 75 percent in the last two days as the company faced a cash crunch, ending Tuesday trading at 50 cents a share. The stock has lost nearly 100 percent of its value this year.