MoviePass competitor Sinemia wants to help movie theaters start their own subscription services
- Movie-ticket subscription service, Sinemia, unveiled a way for any movie theater in the country to start its own subscription plan.
- Sinemia Enterprise allows theaters to set specific pricing plans for any style of movie showing, with Sinemia providing customer relationship management tools and fraud detection.
On Thursday, movie-ticket subscription service Sinemia unveiled a software platform that allows movie theaters to launch their own subscription services.
With "Sinemia Enterprise," the company boasts that a theater can start its own subscription plan within two weeks, just like big chains AMC and Cinemark did in response to MoviePass. The service can be used through iOS and Android apps and can support all movie showings: from standard 2D, to 3D, IMAX, or 4DX.
According to Sinemia, theaters will be able to customize any kind of ticketing or pricing plan using Sinemia tech, including plans for couples and families. The tech will integrate directly with the theater's point-of-sale system, so subscribers can buy tickets and reserve seats in the Sinemia app without using a physical card.
And Sinemia Enterprise will include customer relationship management tools as well as fraud detection.
Sinemia is currently working with theaters in the US and abroad to implement subscription plans that are set to launch later this month, the company said. Sinemia did not respond to multiple requests for clarification from Business Insider on how it will make money from the service, and what fees it will charge theaters.
"When we launched Sinemia, our mission was to help as many moviegoers as possible enjoy an affordable and better experience at the movies by providing a subscription app that integrates an offline and online experience," said Rifat Oguz, CEO and founder of Sinemia. "By partnering with theaters around the globe, we believe we can help more moviegoers, which will help us create a bigger economy for the entire industry."
This is a new tactic by a movie-ticket subscription service to get a foothold in the industry. As opposed to MoviePass, which tried to force its way into the business by building a subscription base so large that movie theaters and studios would have to respect it, Sinemia is looking to get in using a more gentle approach.
One industry insider told Business Insider that the move by Sinemia is one many saw happening at some point, as the movie-ticket subscription craze continues. With many independently owned theaters lacking the infrastructure to launch their own plans, having a company step in as a third party was not a surprise.
Now it's wait-and-see time for how the studios will react. Sinemia Enterprise has the potential to lead to more ticket sales, benefitting both studios and theaters. But if it gets to a point where the studios are not getting the same return on ticket sales, they will make themselves known.