NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--MoviePass Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc (Nasdaq: HMNY) (“HMNY”), announced today that it has acquired an equity stake in the motion picture Gotti, starring John Travolta as the infamous New York City mobster and boss of the Gambino crime family, John Gotti.
The Gotti deal marks MoviePass Ventures’ second independent film rights deal, following its co-acquisition of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival fan favorite American Animals with The Orchard earlier this year. MoviePass Ventures allows MoviePass™ to further integrate its pioneering service with the movie industry and leverage its millions of subscribers to help create success for independent films in the theatrical window. By utilizing the MoviePass™ marketing platform to drive traffic to the theater, MoviePass Ventures hopes to capture additional revenue from downstream windows, including other forms of international, domestic, and streaming distribution in addition to merchandising, music and other ancillary rights.
“Gotti is precisely the type of film we established MoviePass Ventures to support,” said Mitch Lowe, CEO of MoviePass. “We are helping boost traffic to these theaters for people to see these great films. This is an ambitious movie for which we’re thrilled to offer exclusive opportunities, such as exclusive tickets to the U.S. premiere event, word of mouth screenings and other Gotti related events, to our nationwide subscriber base.”
Directed by Kevin Connolly and Produced by Randall Emmett (Lone Survivor, 2 Guns, Irishman (2020), George Furla, Mark Fiore, and Michael Frosch, Gotti stars John Travolta as John Gotti, Kelly Preston as Victoria Gotti, as well as Stacy Keach, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Spencer Lofranco, William DeMeo, Leo Rossi, and Victor Gojcaj.
“Acquiring a stake in Gotti is exciting for MoviePass Ventures, because we’ve learned that a large impact in the box office equates to an even larger, positive impact on downstream revenue such as theatrical domestic and international distribution rights, streaming rights, DVD rights, transactional rights (Itunes), on-demand, and foreign movie rights,” said Ted Farnsworth, Chairman/CEO of Helios and Matheson. “Now MoviePass™ and MoviePass Ventures have the ability to participate in all of these potential revenue streams.”
The Gotti deal was led by Ted Farnsworth and Zac Bright on behalf of MoviePass Ventures along with Tom Ara of Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Randall Emmett and George Furla of Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films.
About MoviePass
MoviePass Inc. is a technology company dedicated to enhancing the exploration of cinema. As the nation's premier movie-theater subscription service, MoviePass provides film enthusiasts the ability to attend up to one movie per day for a low subscription price. The service, now accepted at more than 91% of theaters across the United States, is the nation's largest theater network. For more information, visit www.moviepass.com.
About MoviePass Ventures
MoviePass Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HMNY, is dedicated to supporting independent filmmakers and distributors. Announced at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, MoviePass Ventures collaborates with film distributors and creatives to co-acquire rights in films and offer them enhanced performance in the theatrical window.
About Helios and Matheson
Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc. (Nasdaq: HMNY) is a provider of information technology services and solutions, offering a range of technology platforms focusing on big data, artificial intelligence, business intelligence, social listening, and consumer-centric technology. HMNY owns approximately 92% of the outstanding shares (excluding options and warrants) of MoviePass Inc., the nation's premier movie-theater subscription service. HMNY’s holdings include RedZone Map™, a safety and navigation app for iOS and Android users, and a community-based ecosystem that features a socially empowered safety map app that enhances mobile GPS navigation using advanced proprietary technology. HMNY is headquartered in New York, NY and listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol HMNY. For more information, visit us at www.hmny.com.
Cautionary Statement on Forward-looking Information
Certain information in this communication contains "forward-looking statements" about HMNY and MoviePass Inc. ("MoviePass") within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 or under Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), that may not be based on historical fact, but instead relate to future events. Forward-looking statements are generally identified by words such as "projects," "may," "will," "could," "would," "should," "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates," "intends," "plans," "potential" or similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding MoviePass' business and prospects. Statements regarding future events are based on HMNY's and MoviePass' current expectations and are necessarily subject to associated risks.
Such forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions. Although management of HMNY and MoviePass believe that the assumptions made and expectations represented by such statements are reasonable, there can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement contained herein will prove to be accurate. Actual results and developments (including, without limitation, the ability of MoviePass Ventures to derive financial benefits from its stake in the Gotti movie and for HMNY, MoviePass Ventures and MoviePass collectively to derive enough revenue from revenue streams other than MoviePass subscriber revenue to enable the MoviePass business model to succeed) may differ materially and adversely from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein and even if such actual results and developments are realized or substantially realized, there can be no assurance that they will have the expected consequences or effects.
Risk factors and other material information concerning HMNY and MoviePass are described in HMNY's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on April 17, 2018, and other HMNY filings, including subsequent current and periodic reports, information statements and registration statements filed with the SEC. You are cautioned to review such reports and other filings at www.sec.gov.