'Super Ticket' Making U.K. Debut

19 Mar, 2015 By: Erik Gruenwedel

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Theatrical/digital distribution concept is getting premiere in the United Kingdom

The “Super Ticket” theatrical/digital distribution concept is getting a premiere in the United Kingdom.

Empire Cinemas, home entertainment distributor Signature Entertainment and Wuaki.tv March 19 announced they have partnered for the April 3 release of drama Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, starring Anthony Hopkins, Sam Worthington and Jim Sturgess.

A super ticket of the film, based on the 1983 kidnapping of beer tycoon Freddy Heineken, will include a digital copy available around the June 8 retail date via online platform Wuaki.tv. Price of the super ticket was not disclosed.

“Empire Cinemas is proud to be the first U.K. exhibitor to partner with a distributor to offer a Super Ticket into the U.K. market place. Now the moviegoing experience doesn’t have to end when you leave the cinema,” Jon Nutton, marketing director with Empire, said in a statement.

The movie — titled Kidnapping Mr. Heineken in the United States — will be released domestically April 14 at retail by Alchemy (formerly Millennium Entertainment) for $24.99.

The super ticket was first implemented in 2013 by Paramount Pictures, which partnered with Regal Entertainment for World War Z. The $50 ticket enabled consumers to watch the movie early in theaters and included a HD Digital copy of the film with UltraViolet functionality when it was released at retail.

Paramount again offered the super ticket, this time with Fandango, on Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues. Those who purchased the $33 ticket were able to watch the film two days early at AMC Theaters and received a pass code for a future Digital HD download of the film, a digital download of Wake Up Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, and a $5 concession card and a movie poster.

The studio last summer upped the super ticket offer for Transformers: Age of Extinction, including digital access to two other Transformers movies.

Warner Bros. expanded that theatrical-to-home idea with the launch of the Regal Super Ticket, an option for Regal theatergoers to buy a Digital HD version of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (weeks before disc) when they bought a theatrical ticket.

“This is a creative way for us to open up a new and mutually advantageous business relationship with exhibitors, as it gives us an opportunity to drive awareness of the theatrical window and promote home entertainment product at the same time,” Ron Sanders, president of Warner Bros. Worldwide Home Entertainment Distribution, said in a statement.

 

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