Ticketing Start-Up Lands Deals With Two Biggest Theater Chains
April 11 2016 - 11:50PM
Dow Jones News
Digital movie-ticketing startup Atom Tickets has signed
partnerships with the two largest theater chains in the U.S.,
assuring that its nationwide launch this summer will cover much of
the nation.
Atom's technology will be used by Regal Entertainment Group and
AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., the No. 1 and No. 2 chains by
theater count, respectively, all three companies said. It will
start rolling out in their theaters city-by-city in June, Atom
Chief Executive Ameesh Paleja said, and should complete the process
by the end of summer.
Atom, which has raised more than $60 million from investors
including Hollywood studios Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., Walt
Disney Co., and 21st Century Fox's Twentieth Century Fox, uses a
mobile app to help moviegoers organize groups to go to movies
together. The company is betting that making it easier for friends
and family to plan film outings on their phones will boost theater
attendance and concession sales, particularly among young
people.
It has been testing in a handful theaters operated by Regal and
No. 4 chain Carmike Cinemas Inc. since last year. More recently,
Atom deployed with Landmark Cinemas Inc., the No. 2 theater chain
in Canada.
Regal and AMC together operate 909 of the country's 5,724
theaters, according to the National Association of Theatre Owners,
and have many of the biggest and highest grossing.
Atom has yet to sign deals for nationwide deployment with
Carmike, which recently agreed to be acquired by AMC, or No. 3 U.S.
chain Cinemark Holdings Inc.
Regal and AMC didn't indicate whether they plan to use the Atom
app's capability to enable discounts for people who buy tickets to
shows with lower attendance, a controversial practice in the
industry.
The news comes as the global movie theater industry is gathering
in Las Vegas this week for the annual Cinema-Con convention.
Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 11, 2016 23:35 ET (03:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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