Dealflicks

Dealflicks
IndustryEntertainment (movie theaters)
Founded2012
FateEnded Service on Aug 14, 2018
HeadquartersLos Angeles, California, U.S.
ProductsOnline movie tickets
Websitewww.dealflicks.com

Dealflicks was an online movie ticketing company founded in 2012 and based in Los Angeles, CA. The company sold discounted movie tickets online and through mobile devices. The company was partnered with more than 750 theaters in the United States. As of July 2014, Dealflicks had raised $1.7 million in seed funding.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]

History

The concept for the company began when CEO and co-founder, Sean Wycliffe watched the film The King's Speech in 2010. According to Wycliffe, the theater was mostly empty when he arrived. He then had the idea to launch a company that was similar to a "Priceline for movie tickets".[9]

In April 2012, the company launched their beta platform[10] with two independent theaters in California.[11] In July 2012, the website was officially launched.[12]

Dealflicks was launched by company co-founders Sean Wycliffe, Kevin Hong, and Zachary Cancio.[13] In the initial stages, they struggled to sign theaters; in the first 10 months, they were only able to sign up 100 new theaters.[9] Hong and the sales team decided to travel around the country in a mini-van to sign up theaters.[9] These sales calls were known as "Man Van" trips[12] and helped the team sign up 45 additional theaters in just 3 months.[14]

In March 2016, the company signed on Carmike Cinemas, the fourth largest theater chain in the United States. This agreement allows Dealflicks to be available in more than 750 theaters nationwide.[15] However, in March 2016 AMC announced their intent to purchase Carmike and the acquisition was completed in December that same year. Almost immediately AMC cancelled the agreement with Dealflicks, effectively removing the Carmike theatres from Dealflicks' offering.

As of August 2016, the company partnered with 13 of the top 50 theater chains in the U.S., including B&B Theatres, and Bow Tie Cinemas, among others.[11]

On August 14, 2018, the company announced its fate to its customers through e-mail, ending service the same day.[citation needed]

See also

References

  1. ^ Lawler, Ryan (21 July 2014). "Dealflicks Raises $1.7 Million To Offer Movie Discounts Through An App". TechCrunch. AOL Inc. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  2. ^ "Dealflicks aims to put movie fans in cheaper seats". Los Angeles Times. 6 May 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2016 – via latimes.com.
  3. ^ Bruder, Jessica (28 November 2012). "An 'Unsexy' Start-Up Tries to Fill Movie Seats". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  4. ^ Pack, Amy (2013-03-16). "Startup: Don't Pay Full Price for a Movie Ticket". CNBC. Retrieved 26 August 2016. Wycliffe got the idea for the company in 2011, when he went to see "The King's Speech" and was surprised that the movie theater was practically empty.
  5. ^ NDR. "Dealflicks - Das Start-up aus dem Mini-Van". www.ndr.de. Norddeutscher Rundfunk. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  6. ^ "Discount movie-ticket seller Dealflicks expands with Carmike Cinemas alliance". Los Angeles Times. March 2016. Retrieved 26 August 2016 – via latimes.com. Dealflicks has grown quickly. It is projected to hit roughly $7 million in revenue this year, more than double its 2015 sales.
  7. ^ "Why the Movie Business Is Long Overdue for Disruption". Inc. 2015-10-26. Retrieved 26 August 2016.
  8. ^ Ryan, Patrick. "Discount movie tickets? There are apps for that". USA Today. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Verrier, Richard (6 May 2014). "Dealflicks aims to put movie fans in cheaper seats". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  10. ^ "4 entrepreneurs, 2 vans: Dealflicks hits up movie theatres nationwide on third 'Man Van' trip | Built in LA".
  11. ^ a b Ellingson, Annlee. "Carmike to offer more deals on flicks". L.A. Biz. American City Business Journals. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  12. ^ a b McClure, Sean. "4 entrepreneurs, 2 vans: Dealflicks hits up movie theatres nationwide on third 'Man Van' trip". Built In LA. Built In. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  13. ^ Hobey, Erin (28 July 2014). "Dealflicks Raises $1.7M on Wefunder: Startup Continues to Fill Empty Movie Theater Seats". Crowndfund Insider. Crowded Media Group. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  14. ^ McKenzie, Hamish. "Startup hustle: Why two men decided to sleep together in a van for months on end". Pando. PandoMedia. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  15. ^ Faughnder, Ryan (March 2016). "Discount movie-ticket seller Dealflicks expands with Carmike Cinemas alliance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 29 August 2016.