MoviePass may have popularized the ticket subscription model, but the embattled service does have competitors. One company is looking to close the gap.
Los Angeles-based Sinemia on Thursday introduced a refer-a-friend program designed to “make it even easier and more affordable for moviegoers to leave their current movie ticket subscription service.” The deal lets current Sinemia subscribers earn $10 in credit for each friend who joins from a rival ticket subscription company. Those recruited users in turn receive $10 in Sinemia credit as well.
Sinemia users on Thursday should receive a code accessible within the app that can be used for the referrals. The company says ticket credit will only be given if new users provide proof they were previously using another ticketing service. They can do this by uploading a photo of their old service’s debit card or entering the card’s number.
The company is currently offering plans of three movies of a month for $14.99, contrasted to the same option at MoviePass for $9.99 a month. However unlike MoviePass, Sinemia users can buy advance tickets from anywhere using the app and attend 3D and IMAX screenings for no additional price. The company promises there will also be no blackout dates or surge prices.
“With Sinemia, people can see the summer’s most anticipated movies as well as independent features at the theater of their choice, for much less than the price of a standard ticket,” chief executive and founder Rifat Oguz says in a statement. “We have flexible plans crafted for all types of moviegoers and want to make it easy for our customers to enjoy their movie day or night out.”
In a separate interview with Fortune, Oguz adds that the referral program is intended to get users “to tell the Sinemia experience to other services’ customers. How they actually don’t have surge pricing and changed rules.”
“We believe our customers are the best ones to tell this story,” he adds. “They already came from MoviePass or other competitors.”
Oguz declined to share subscriber numbers, citing Sinemia’s status as a private company, but said subscriber rates were up 50% during the first week of August and expected to rise even higher by the end of the month.
Sinemia is available at all major theater chains in the U.S., U.K., Turkey, and Australia, and select independent cinemas.
