We all thought it would be MoviePass that would be the first major movie ticket subscription service to die a painful death. But out of nowhere (well, kind of), Sinemia has earned that distinct and shameful honor.
After reports of financial troubles over the last week, many analysts saw the writing on the wall for the startup subscription service. The company began changing pricing, trying to be competitive over the last days, but ultimately, the subscription service had to terminate it’s US business today.
“Today, with a heavy heart, we’re announcing that Sinemia is closing its doors and ending operations in the US effective immediately,” a statement on the company’s website revealed.
“We are all witnessing that the future of moviegoing is evolving through movie ticket subscriptions,” the statement continues. “However, we didn’t see a path to sustainability as an independent movie ticket subscription service in the face of competition from movie theaters as they build their own subscriptions. Thanks to the cost advantage and cross-sell opportunities, movie theaters will be prominent in the movie ticket subscription economy.”
There are many in the US that don’t even know who Sinemia is, which probably didn’t help its cause. The company actually predates MoviePass in the movie ticket subscription game, but was quickly lost in the shuffle when the former decided to undercut the competition with an unsustainable price point that attracted millions of customers. Eventually, SInemia would try to mimic the success, but by that time, the company was just one of a few options out there. And finally, when AMC and other theater chains decided to enter the space, that just was too much for Sinemia.
READ MORE: New Report Shows MoviePass Has Lost Over 90% Of Its Subscribers In Less Than A Year
“Despite the best efforts of our team, it has been difficult for us as a start-up to continue providing our services to the moviegoers in the US without resources and enough capital to meet increased operations and legal costs,” the statement said.
Now, with Sinemia officially done in the US, will MoviePass be the next to go? We just reported the company lost upwards of 90% of its user base, so the former industry leader is obviously on life support.
