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§ Private Profile · Oakland, CA, USA
Technology platform offering discounted movie tickets and concessions for theaters, focused on increasing off-peak attendance.
Los Angeles, California-based Dealflicks was a consumer technology platform that partnered directly with the movie exhibition industry to offer discounted tickets and concessions during periods of low theater occupancy. The company operated a commission-based business model designed to help independent theaters and national chains fill empty seats by providing audiences with variable discounts of up to 60 percent. Before officially ceasing its operations due to financial difficulties in August 2018, the digital platform had successfully secured active contracts with more than 400 theater locations nationwide and processed over one million individual ticket sales. To support its domestic expansion and planned dynamic pricing technology, the enterprise raised $1.7 million in seed funding from institutional backers including 500 Startups, Wavemaker Partners, and Warner Brothers' Media Camp. Dealflicks was originally founded in 2012 by technology entrepreneur Sean Wycliffe.
Dealflicks has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round.
Dealflicks has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Dealflicks has raised $2.0M in total across 1 funding round.
Dealflicks's investors include 500 Global, 7BC Venture Capital, Daffy, Long Journey Ventures, March Capital, Practical Venture Capital, Rubicon VC, TNT Venture, Larry Braitman, Lawrence Braitman, Marc Benioff, Sahin Boydas.
Dealflicks has raised $2.0M across 1 funding round. Most recently, it raised $2.0M Seed in July 2014.
| Date | Round | Lead Investors | Other Investors | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 1, 2014 | $2M Seed | — | 500 Global, 7BC Venture Capital, Daffy, Long Journey Ventures, March Capital, Practical Venture Capital, Rubicon VC, TNT Venture, Larry Braitman, Lawrence Braitman, Marc Benioff, Sahin Boydas, Scott Banister, Sina Afra, Ajay Narula, Darcy Wedd, Hersh Narula, Jason Kothari, Marc Berger, Richard Wolpert, 500 Startups, Archer Gray, BE Great Partners, Mogility Capital, Rosepaul Investments, Siemer Ventures, Sierra Maya Ventures, Turner MediaCamp, Wefunder | Announced |
Dealflicks was a technology startup that offered discounted movie tickets and concessions at 40-60% off, helping theaters fill empty seats during low-attendance periods without revealing specific theater locations or exact showtimes until after purchase.[1][2][4] It served budget-conscious moviegoers seeking deals without convenience fees and partnered with theaters, including smaller chains like Bow Tie Cinemas and larger ones like B&B Theatres, to sell vouchers and bundled offers.[1][2][3] The company addressed the problem of underutilized cinema capacity by enabling dynamic pricing-like discounts, though theaters resisted direct ticket price cuts.[1][2] Dealflicks raised $3.26M in funding but ceased operations in August 2018 due to financial struggles and competition from subscription models like MoviePass.[1][2]
Founded in 2012 in Los Angeles by co-founder and CEO Sean Wycliffe, Dealflicks emerged as a "Priceline of movie tickets," inspired by travel industry deal models to tackle vacant theater seats.[1][2] The founders bootstrapped early promotion by driving a converted Toyota Sienna across the country to pitch local theaters, starting with voucher sales and concession bundles.[1][2] Initial traction came from partnerships with smaller chains like Bow Tie Cinemas in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia, expanding to an online discount service with B&B Theatres, the nation's seventh-largest chain, in 2018.[1][2][3] Despite reaching 3,000 screens—a fraction of North America's 40,000—the model faced exhibitor resistance to dynamic pricing and broader market shifts.[1][2]
Dealflicks rode the early 2010s trend of Groupon-style daily deals and opaque pricing from travel tech (e.g., Priceline), applying it to cinemas amid rising digital ticketing.[2] Timing aligned with theaters' post-recession need to optimize empty seats, but market forces like exhibitor resistance to price transparency and the 2018 MoviePass subscription boom—peaking at 3 million users with $9.95 unlimited plans—eroded its coupon model.[1][2] It influenced the ecosystem by pioneering theater partnerships for discounts, paving the way for later dynamic pricing experiments, though its limited scale (3,000 screens) highlighted barriers in a fragmented, brand-protective industry.[1][2]
Dealflicks shut down in August 2018 after six years, emailing customers of its immediate end due to unsustainable finances, with support lines bouncing and leadership unresponsive.[2] Post-closure, its vision of filling seats via tech-driven deals persists in evolved forms like AMC's subscription tiers and AI-optimized pricing tools from larger players. Looking ahead, surviving cinema tech will leverage post-pandemic recovery, streaming competition, and data analytics for true dynamic pricing—trends Dealflicks anticipated but couldn't outlast. Its story underscores how nimble startups can spotlight industry gaps, even if incumbents and flashier rivals claim the wins, tying back to its original hustle as a cautionary blueprint for entertainment tech disruption.[1][2]