MoviePass competitor Sinemia shutters on eve of ‘Avengers: Endgame’

By: Nicolas V.

See ya, Sinemia!

The troubled MoviePass competitor — which billed itself as a sustainable cinema subscription service — abruptly shuttered its US operations Thursday night, citing “unexpected legal proceedings” and a lack of “funds required to continue operations.”

In a letter posted on its website, Sinemia said that it would be shutting down, “effective immediately.”
Despite thanking customers for “their love and support,” Sinemia gave no indication of whether it would be refunding customers who had paid as much as $360 in advance for its unlimited annual plans.

If plans are not honored, subscribers will be forced to fork over more money watch “Avengers: Endgame,” which was released Thursday and which is widely expected to be the biggest movie of the year.

The Turkish company has been besieged by lawsuits in the past year, including a November class-action suit from customers who said they were the victims of a “bait-and-switch” after the service introduced new processing fees to see films.

Rival MoviePass also sued Sinemia, accusing it last year of stealing patented features from its app.

“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,” the service said in its statement, referencing the popular AMC A-List service, which in March announced it had reached 700,000 subscribers.

“Thanks to the cost advantage and cross-sell opportunities, movie theaters will be prominent in the movie ticket subscription economy,” the letter continued.

A representative for Sinemia declined to comment.