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Independent cinemas

Cinema software for independent cinemas

Filmgrail is cinema software for independent cinemas: your own website, native iOS and Android apps, checkout, loyalty and push notifications, running on top of the box office you already have. Independents from Hitra Kino and Bio Bristol to Wallis Cinemas and Classic Cinemas run on it. The price is flat per screen, from $200 a year, with no per-ticket fees, and most cinemas are live within weeks.

Filmgrail cinema website on a phone

Independents already running on Filmgrail

Wallis Cinemas has been family-owned and independent for over seventy years. It runs four sites in South Australia and at Mildura in Victoria on one platform, and it owns its site, its checkout and its customer list instead of handing them to a national marketplace.

Classic Cinemas runs around sixteen theatres in the Chicago area, from restored historic single screens to modern recliner multiplexes, on the same system as the Norwegian sites, in English, with US pricing conventions.

Bio Bristol in Sundbyberg, Sweden, is run by an association, with no circuit behind it and no IT department. Hitra Kino, an island cinema on the Norwegian coast, runs on the same platform as Ster-Kinekor's thirty-plus complexes. So do Bryne Kino, Fredrikstad Kino and Edda Kino, the five-hall cinema that hosts the Norwegian International Film Festival.

Better still, build a prototype of your own cinema in 20 seconds. That is a better guide than anything on this page.

$200
per year, from

The price for a single screen. It scales by screens only, up to $20,000 a year for a large circuit.

$0
per-ticket fees

A flat price per screen, with no per-ticket fee and no share of your sales. A record year costs nothing extra.

Weeks
to go live

A few weeks if we already integrate your box office and payment provider; about a month if we need to add a new one.

What holds independents back, and what Filmgrail does about it

Your bookings run through someone else's channel

A marketplace listing owns the customer and ranks above you. Filmgrail gives you your own branded website and checkout, and the customer list stays yours.

Nobody in the building owns the website

Films, articles, banners, prices and campaigns are edited in the CMS without programming knowledge. Role-based access means each person sees only their own area.

The checkout loses people on phones

Seat maps built for a thumb, saved payment details, and profiles created during the purchase instead of blocking it.

The chain down the road has an app

Native iOS and Android apps under your own developer accounts and your own brand, sharing content and checkout with the website.

Visitors come once and never hear from you again

Filmgrail Loyalty earns points on tickets and concessions. Segmented push and SMS reach people who watchlisted a film or left a booking unpaid.

You don't know who your audience is

Nine out of ten users create a profile, so Filmgrail Insights shows you real people by film, screening and campaign, not anonymous sessions.

A new box office would cost too much

Keep the one you run. Filmgrail reads your programme and writes each sale back. If we do not integrate your system yet, we build the connector during onboarding, which takes about a month.

Per-ticket fees take a cut of your good years

One flat annual price per screen. Your fee stays the same however many tickets you sell.

See it before you call anyone

See your own cinema on Filmgrail in 20 seconds: the prototype tool reads your current website and builds a working version of it on Filmgrail, with a back office you can click through. Then book a demo for a written cost assessment. Prices are on the pricing page, not hidden behind a form.

Selling in a particular market? See Filmgrail in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Sweden and Norway.

Comparing vendors? Read Veezi alternatives, Filmbot alternatives, Filmgrail vs Veezi and cinema ticketing software alternatives.

More specific pages: single-screen and town cinemas, small and mid-size chains and cultural centres.

Answers

Frequently asked questions

How much does cinema software cost for an independent cinema?

On Filmgrail, a single screen starts at $200 a year. The price scales by number of screens only, up to $20,000 a year for a large circuit, with no per-ticket fee and no share of your sales. Card fees go to your own payment provider under your own agreement.

Do we have to replace our box office system?

No. Filmgrail replaces the part your audience sees (website, apps and online checkout) and connects to the box office you already run. If we do not integrate your system yet, we build the connector during onboarding.

How long does it take to go live?

A few weeks if we already integrate your box office and payment provider. About a month if we need to add a new one.

Do we need a developer or IT staff?

No. There is no server to run and nothing to patch. Content, films, prices, banners and push campaigns are managed in the CMS without programming knowledge, with role-based permissions.

Can an independent cinema have its own app?

Yes. The native iOS and Android apps carry your branding and ship under your own developer accounts, however many screens you run. Many cinemas start with the website and add the apps later, because the CMS and the integration are shared.

Who owns the audience data?

You do. Filmgrail provides the infrastructure. Your moviegoer data stays under your control, and the profiles, watchlists and bookings belong to your cinema, not to a marketplace.