Exclusive: Talking Movie Theater Subscription Plans With Sinemia Founder Rifat Oguz
Have you heard of a monthly theatrical subscription service called MoviePass? More than likely by this point you have.
But what about Sinemia?
Via their official site, Sinemia is “a private movie club that provides discounted movie ticket subscription plans. Through a combination of easy to use technology and pre-paid debit cards, Sinemia has created an innovative solution for the movie-going experience.”
After announcing its U.S. launch, the high-end movie ticket subscription service was welcomed to the country with a lawsuit from competitor MoviePass.
Recently we had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Sinemia’s founder Rifat Oguz, and we talked about the services, the lawsuit, and our favorite movies in general.
Give the interview a look-see below and then let us know what you think!
Dread Central: First off, can you tell us a bit about how Sinemia works and what you offer?
Rifat Oguz: Sinemia offers different plans according to your movie watching frequency. The most popular one is 2 times in a month for $8.99. It’s free 2D or 3D tickets in any theater, for any movie, and includes features like reserved seating, the IMAX-4DX-XD-ScreenX-DBox experience, private screenings and more for one low monthly fee; support for advance ticket purchases and support for third-party ticket processors like Fandango.
DC: Where did the idea for Sinemia begin?
RO: I’ve always been passionate about movies. When I realized there were so many empty seats in movie theaters throughout the world, I decided to change that by developing an idea for a “movie ticket subscription” system.
DC: Sinemia is already leading the market in the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, and Australia. Can you talk a bit more about this?
RO: We don’t have any competitors, globally. Our only competitor is in the US. We are trying to create a global system for all the moviegoers on the planet.
DC: Why the move to the U.S.?
RO: Because the heart of the movie market is in the U.S.
DC: How does Sinemia differ from other services such as MoviePass?
RO: Firstly, we don’t track our subscribers or sell their personal data because we don’t need to earn money from data. We have a sustainable financial model. Our subscribers are our clients, not our product. As previously stated, Sinemia offers different plans according to your movie watching frequency.
DC: Speaking of MoviePass, the “rival” company recently filed a lawsuit Sinemia for “using its patented electronic payment technology without authorization.” Care to comment?
RO: MoviePass tries to block us because our sustainable and less restrictive model promises much more to customers and the overall movie market. The reason for their effort is to block serious, true competition.
DC: Where do you see Sinemia in 5 years?
RO: We believe that we’ll be giving service in all 5 continents to millions of movie lovers.
DC: I always end with this question: What’s your favorite scary movie?
RO: The Shining is a classic. But if you’re asking for a more recent movie, I think The Conjuring is my favorite.
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Thanks for chatting with us today, Rifat!
For more info on Sinemia, visit the official site RIGHT HERE.
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