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We tested out Sinemia, Canada’s only movie ticket subscription service

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Every company dreams of being the next Netflix or Spotify, but it can be hard out there for an app.

Lured by the promise of monthly payments coming in forever, they may not realize how difficult it is to make the all-you-can-consume subscription model work. The perfect example: going to the theatre to catch a flick.

Moviepass is the cautionary tale here. Only available in the U.S., the company has popularized the idea of an all-you-can-watch plan for cinemagoers but has also showed how hard it is to actually execute.

Moviepass tried different plans, like a $99-a-month deal, which gained some traction and customers. Then a new executive took over and cut prices to just 10 bucks a month. Membership exploded, as did the company’s debt — because Moviepass still paid the full price of every customer’s ticket to theatres. Users started facing resistance from several theatre chains, and restrictions on what movies they could watch and when. The company continues to struggle, spun out last month for potential sale by its parent company.

While all this was happening, Sinemia, which originated in Turkey but now is headquartered in Los Angeles, was offering a similar product, but it has tried to keep a more sustainable path. It mostly stuck to tiered plans, like $17.99 for two movies a month. Like Moviepass, Sinemia is on the hook to theatres for the full price of the ticket.

In September, Sinemia launched a $30 all-you-can-watch plan, with some limitations. (If you want weekday screenings only, it’s $23.99 per month.)

I decided to test drive the service to see how it works, how easy it is to use and how much moviegoers can actually save. Turns out there are some hidden costs and some kinks in the system that make it unnecessarily complicated. We’ll get to that.

Sinemia’s Classic Plan allows customers to watch one 2D movie per day — no IMAX, 3D or 4DX screenings, but Ultra AVX makes the cut.

It costs $30 a month if you pay annually, but if you sign up for a monthly pass you pay a one-time membership fee of $30. Being afraid of commitment, I chose the second option. As soon as I did, I got an email that said I needed to wait for customer service to start my “cardless activation,” which could take one to two weeks. But if I really wanted to start watching movies immediately, I could pay an additional $10 to expedite the process. It felt like I was being nickeled and dimed. It wouldn’t be the only time.

So, lesson one: don’t expect to see movies right away. I decided to wait for activation. And as I did, I did the math. With a typical movie costing about $13, I needed to see five movies that first month to get my money back. I would make sure I got my money’s worth. Or at least that was the plan.

By the time two weeks rolled around, I hadn’t heard anything from Sinemia and sent in a support ticket. On Day 15, my account was activated.

The next day, I went to see a matinee of First Man at the Alliance Cinemas in the Beaches. This is when I really learned how convoluted the Sinemia process can be. Despite the app having images and info about films and theatres, you can’t actually use it to buy a ticket. First you have to find the screening that you want. Then you should find the theatre website where you can purchase tickets (cineplex.com for example), as you will need that shortly.

Open up the Sinemia app and find the “Planning” tab to buy an Advanced Ticket. You pick the theatre and time of the film, but not the actual movie. Within a moment or two, the company generates a one-time-use credit card number, which you then can use on the theatre’s website to buy the ticket.

Once at the theatre, you need to open the app again and check in, to prove you actually went and didn’t, say, pass along the ticket to a friend. If you don’t do this, Sinemia warns it could charge you for the full price of the ticket.

If all that doesn’t sound so bad, know there are hiccups along the way. First, because of the cardless feature — Canadians don’t yet have a card option — the app charges a $1.80 processing fee for every transaction. So on top of the $30-a-month fee and the one-time membership fee, you pay another $1.80 for each movie you see. That means I need to see seven movies in the first month to wind up ahead.

As well, the credit card number generated is from a MasterCard, which uses an American zip-code. It wasn’t accepted by the Movietickets.com site that Alliance uses for ticket sales. I was getting frustrated, but then I plugged in my Canadian postal code and it worked.

Later on in the week, when I caught a Mission: Impossible — Fallout screening at Scotiabank Theatre, I tried my Canadian postal code trick on Cineplex.com and it didn’t work, but using the American zip-code did. Who needs TimePlay when using Sinemia is like playing a skill-testing game before you even get into the theatre?

Clunky as it is, the payment solution works for all Canadian theatres — in Toronto that includes TIFF Bell Lightbox, the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema and repertory cinemas — as long as there is a way to pre-purchase the ticket online. And thanks to that payment system, you can use and still collect loyalty points and perks from the theatres, such as Cineplex’s Scene program.

But the cost structure — and the unexpected service charge — bothered me.

I called up Rifat Oguz, the CEO and founder of Sinemia, to talk about how confusing the system can be for users.

“Yes, that is true. It can be,” Oguz admits, adding that the processing fee was necessary “to maintain the service.”

“That’s also changing with the new card system that will be coming soon,” he adds.

“Look, other movie subscriptions services are limiting show times and keep limiting what you can see. We’re not going to do that and, to maintain the same service level, that’s why we have the fee.”

Oguz says the company is constantly tinkering — a cheaper subscription tier was just added for weekday movie-going — and clearly is trying to find ways to make money.

Recently, Sinemia announced it will help other companies develop and build their own subscription services. Oguz thinks the most value comes from the tiered and family plans, which often let users pick any kind of viewing experience, including IMAX and 3D.

But it’s hard not to think that’s Sinemia best option for making money is if enough customers sign up and then don’t use it. That way, the company earns the subscription fees but doesn’t have to cover the ticket prices. Oguz doesn’t dispute that but says the hope is to get a large enough audience that money can be made in other ways, through partnerships with restaurants, cinemas and even taxi apps, and through marketing, to help theatres push films or encourage customers to come during low-traffic times, such as weekday matinees.

“We are charging the subscription for the movie payment, but we want everyone to use it for other things as well, the other parts of the movie-going experience,” Oguz says.

“Canada is right now the second biggest market (for Sinemia) and we didn’t really market there, so it was all word of mouth and our referral program worked.”

Sinemia has no deals in place with the theatres. That means it can work with everyone but, in a country like Canada where one chain dominates, there is probably an opportunity to partner and create a more seamless experience.

At this point, though, Sinemia is on its own — and it will likely face direct competition from the biggest fish in the Canadian theatre business.

“We have no relationship with Sinemia so I cannot speak to their operations here in Canada or elsewhere,” says Sarah Van Lange, director of communications for Cineplex. “That said, we share the concerns widely held across the industry that the business model of these third-party ticketing services is unsustainable and ultimately will create a negative experience for movie lovers in our theatres.”

Would Cineplex consider its own subscription model?

“We are always looking at new ticketing options for guests,” Van Lange says.

She points to a Summer Movie Pass program Cineplex has run for the past two summers, which allowed Scene members to buy five or eight tickets at a reduced price. It has also launched a “Scene Gold” pilot program in Edmonton, which has even greater benefits, including a priority concession line, exclusive screenings and ticket upgrades, for a fee of $6.99 per month.

It’s not an all-you-can-watch plan yet and, if that’s what you want, Sinemia right now is the only Canadian option.

But do you really need one? Now that I’ve figured out how Sinemia works, the bigger issue is finding enough 2D movies that I actually want to see, and the time to go and see them. That’s a problem that even the best movie subscription service can’t solve.

Raju Mudhar is a Toronto-based reporter covering popular culture at the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @rajumudhar

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Anglais

Nostalgia and much more with Starburst XXXtreme

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Get a taste of adventure with Starburst XXXtreme based on the legendary NetEnt Game. The nostalgic themes are sure to capture fans of the classic version as they get treated to higher intensity, better visuals, and features. The most significant element of the game is its volatility. Patience will not be an essential virtue considering the insane gameplay, and there is a lot of win potential involved. It retains the original makeup of the previous game while adding a healthy dose of adrenaline. 

Starburst Visuals and Symbols

The game is definitely more conspicuous than before. The setting happens over a 5-reel, 3-row game grid with nine fixed win lines, which function if a succession from the left to the right reel is present. Only those players that that attain the highest win per bet line are paid. From a visual standpoint, the Starburst XXXtreme slots illustrates lightning effects behind the reels, which is not surprising as it is inherited from the original version. Available themes include Classic, Jewels, and Space. The game is also available in both desktop and mobile versions, which is advantageous for players considering the global pandemic. According to Techguide, American gamers are increasingly having more engaging gaming experiences to socialize to fill the gap of in-person interaction. Starburst XXXtreme allows them to fill the social void at a time when there is so much time to be had indoors. 

Starburst XXXTreme Features

Players get to alternate on three features which are Starburst Wilds, XXXtreme Spins, and Random Wilds. The first appears on reels 2,3, or 4. When these land, they expand to cover all positions while also calculating the wins. They are also locked for a respin. If a new one hits, it also becomes locked while awarding another respin. Starburst XXXtreme offers a choice between two scenarios for a higher stake. In one scenario with a ten times stake, the Starburst Wild is set on random on reels 2,3, or 4, and a multiplier starts the respin. The second scenario, which has a 95 times stake, starts with two guaranteed starburst wilds on reels 2,3, or 4. it also plays out using respin game sequence and features. The game also increases the potential with the Random Wilds feature to add Starburst Wilds to a vacant reel at the end of a spin. Every Starburst Wild gives a random multiplier with potential wins of x2, x3, x5, x10, x25, x50, x100, or even x150.

The new feature is sure to be a big hit with the gaming market as online gambling has shown significant growth during the lockdown. AdAge indicates the current casino customer base is an estimated one in five Americans, so Starburst XXXtreme’s additional features will achieve considerable popularity. 

What We Think About The Game

The gambling market has continued to diversify post-pandemic, so it is one of the most opportune times to release an online casino-based game. Thankfully Starburst XXXtreme features eye-catching visuals, including the jewels and space themes. These attract audience participation and make the gameplay inviting. The game also has a nostalgic edge. The previous NetEnt iteration featured similar visuals and gameplay, so the audience has some familiarity with it. The producers have revamped this version by tweaking the features to improve the volatility and engagement. 

That is characterized by the potential win cap of 200,000 times the bet. Starburst XXXtreme does not just give betting alternatives for players that want to go big. The increase of multipliers also provides a great experience. If the respins in the previous version were great, knowing that multipliers can go hundreds of times overtakes the game to a new level. 

Players should get excited about this offering. All of the features can be triggered within a single spin. Whether one plays the standard game or takes the XXXtreme spin route, it is possible to activate all of the features. Of course, the potential 200,000 times potential is a huge carrot. However, the bet size is probably going to be restricted and vary depending on the casino. It is also worth pointing out that a malfunction during the gameplay will void all of the payouts and progress. Overall, the game itself has been designed to provide a capped win of 200,000 times the original bet. 

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Anglais

‘We’re back’: Montreal festival promoters happy to return but looking to next year

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In downtown Montreal, it’s festival season.

In the city’s entertainment district, a musical act was conducting a sound check on stage Friday evening — the second day of the French-language version of the renowned Just For Laughs comedy festival. Tickets for many of the festival’s free outdoor shows — limited by COVID-19 regulations — were sold out.

Two blocks away, more than 100 people were watching an acoustic performance by the Isaac Neto Trio — part of the last weekend of the Festival International Nuits d’Afrique, a celebration of music from the African continent and the African diaspora.

With COVID-19 restrictions continuing to limit capacity, festival organizers say they’re glad to be back but looking forward to next year when they hope border restrictions and capacity limits won’t affect their plans.

Charles Décarie, Just For Laughs’ CEO and president, said this is a “transition year.”

“Even though we have major constraints from the public health group in Montreal, we’ve managed to design a festival that can navigate through those constraints,” Décarie said.

The French-language Juste pour rire festival began on July 15 and is followed by the English-language festival until July 31.

When planning began in February and March, Décarie said, organizers came up with a variety of scenarios for different crowd sizes, ranging from no spectators to 50 per cent of usual capacity.

“You’ve got to build scenarios,” he said. “You do have to plan a little bit more than usual because you have to have alternatives.”

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Anglais

MELS new major movie studio to be built in Montreal

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MONTREAL — MELS Studios will build a new film studio in Montreal, filling some of the gap in supply to meet the demand of Hollywood productions.

MELS president Martin Carrier said on Friday that MELS 4 studio construction will begin « as soon as possible », either in the fall or winter of next year. The studio could host productions as early as spring 2023.

The total investment for the project is $76 million, with the Quebec government contributing a $25 million loan. The project will create 110 jobs, according to the company.

The TVA Group subsidiary’s project will enable it to stand out « even more » internationally, according to Quebecor president and CEO Pierre Karl Péladeau. In the past, MELS Studios has hosted several major productions, including chapters of the X-Men franchise. The next Transformers movie is shooting this summer in Montreal.

Péladeau insisted that local cultural productions would also benefit from the new facility, adding that the studio ensures foreign revenues and to showcase talent and maintain an industry of Quebec producers.

STUDIO SHORTAGE

The film industry is cramped in Montreal.

According to a report published last May by the Bureau du cinéma et de la télévision du Québec (BCTQ), there is a shortage of nearly 400,000 square feet of studio space.

With the addition of MELS 4, which will be 160,000 square feet, the company is filling part of the gap.

Carrier admitted that he has had to turn down contracts because of the lack of space, representing missed opportunities of « tens of millions of dollars, not only for MELS, but also for the Quebec economy. »

« Montreal’s expertise is in high demand, » said Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante, who was present at the announcement.

She said she received great testimonials from « Netflix, Disney, HBO and company » during an economic mission to Los Angeles in 2019.

« What stands out is that they love Montreal because of its expertise, knowledge and beauty. We need more space, like MELS 4, » she said.

There is still not enough capacity in Quebec, acknowledged Minister of Finance, the Economy and Innovation Eric Girard.

« It is certain that the government is concerned about fairness and balance, so if other requests come in, we will study them with the same seriousness as we have studied this one, » he said.

Grandé Studios is the second-largest player in the industry. Last May, the company said it had expansion plans that should begin in 2022. Investissement Québec and Bell are minority shareholders in the company.

For its part, MELS will have 400,000 square feet of production space once MELS 4 is completed. The company employs 450 people in Quebec and offers a range of services including studio and equipment rentals, image and sound postproduction, visual effects and a virtual production platform.

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