MoviePass 2.0 is failing out the gate — and users are ticked off

MoviePass 2.0's launch hasn't even technically happened yet, but it's already having technical difficulties. Yes, after a reveal earlier this week confirmed MoviePass 2.0's Labor Day launch, the first moments of its signup are annoyingly familiar — in that they're buggy. 

When trying to sign up for the beta access which launched minutes ago at 9 a.m. ET, Tom's Guide (and others) have been hit with an "Error joining the waitlist" message. This is, of course, after confirming that we are not robots. This looks as if MoviePass didn't anticipate the demand for its discounted service. Here's what the error looks like:

At 9:42 a.m. ET, a Tom's Guide staffer finally got the MoviePass 2.0 sign-up to work correctly.

For those who haven't heard, MoviePass — which once offered unlimited movie tickets for a monthly fee — is coming back as MoviePass 2.0. This new service will have three tiers, costing $10, $20 and $30 per month, and will not start with an unlimited plan. 

You'll get a certain amount of credits based on your tier, which can be used to get tickets at any theater that accepts credit card payments. No specific theaters or credits-to-tickets ratio or pricing was announced, but it seems like matinees and movies with less demand could cost less.

Other users are sharing the same error on social media, such as user @NicActon who gripes "Ah, I see #moviepass hasn't changed their customer onboarding strategy. Still painful as ever right out the gate." Similar snark comes from @atNickVega:

Not all users are hitting this wall, though. @alexpacillas shared proof of their success with a confirmation email showing they signed up.

Analysis: Not the right way to reboot MoviePass

For MoviePass 2.0 to start with a glitch is not inspiring any confidence. The service originally fizzled out slowly, finally ending in bankruptcy in 2020.

Before that, MoviePass kept trying to pivot out of the ditch it had driven itself into. It raised prices, it lowered prices and it changed its subscription plans multiple times over. 

In its wake, MoviePass was succeeded by many similar plans that are specific to certain movie theater chains. I personally have subscribed to Alamo Drafthouse's Season Pass, and AMC and Regal both offer their own plans. 

While day 0 bugs — the service hasn't even truly gone live yet, this is just a sign-up process — may be forgotten if MoviePass 2.0 is a hit, it's a bad sign that the folks behind MoviePass are still not planning things out properly.