The dream of theatrical movie subscription services might be over, as Sinemia announced that has ceased its U.S. operations effective immediately.
In an official statement, Sinemia, which was one of the largest competitors to the infamously flakey MoviePass, cites funding issues, increased competition as theaters launch their own movie subscription plans and the cost of “unexpected legal proceedings” as the reasons for its closure. Over the past few months, Sinemiafaced lawsuits from subscribers who objected to the addition of a surprise processing fee, and MoviePass, which claims that Sinemia violates its patents.
It’s not clear what Sinemia’s U.S. closure means for the service in territories like the U.K., Canada, and Australia, where Sinemia built an audience before launching in America. Sinemia also didn’t say whether or not customers who prepaid for subscriptions will receive refunds. Previously, Sinemia customers had to pay for an entire year’s worth of service in order to avoid a $20 “initiation fee.”
Sinemia’s closure is another blow to the struggling movie subscription service industry, which promises subscribers that they can see a certain number of movies a month in theaters by paying a flat, discounted fee. MoviePass, which was founded in 2011, rose to fame on the strength of its $10 monthly plan, which allowed subscribers to view one movie in theaters every day.
That model proved unsustainable, and MoviePass quickly lost customers’ trust by implementing unexpected and byzantine rules for what people could and couldn’t watch, removing the most popular films from the service, adding “surge pricing” during the busiest times at the theaters, and other shady business practices. Recently, Sinemia has faced similar complaints from subscribers, thanks to hidden fees and problems with its app, which is necessary to use the service.
Not every movie subscription plan is a bust. AMC Stubs A-List, which lets subscribers see three movies a month in AMC theaters, continues to grow. Despite MoviePass and Sinema’s troubles, Infinity and Atom Theaters are prepping their own movie subscription services, while MoviePass’ co-founder is launching PreShow, a dystopian-sounding service that rewards customers with free movie tickets for watching 20 minutes worth of advertisements.
Still, the future of theatrical subscription programs doesn’t seem particularly bright, and if you really want a near-unlimited supply of movies for a single fee, you might want to check out Netflix.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.