You're missing a piece: MoviePass was selling subscriptions while buying tickets from theaters at retail prices. That's why I mentioned AMC A-List, their subscription model works pretty well for them because they control per ticket and subscription price.

The price these companies charge per token is irrelevant to a discussion about subscriptions. You're comparing two selling prices, when what matters is the actual cost. It's like those ads saying, “Normally $20 million, but today it's only $99!” for something that costs $10 to make.

Sure, they're losing money now. But the question is whether the tokens you use through your subscription will eventually cost them less to generate than you pay for that subscription. Their per-token selling price doesn't tell you that.