Why the Movie Business Is Long Overdue for Disruption

Shaking up the U.S. movie business with an innovative startup is like trying to make it as an actor. Your odds are so low that it can seem foolish to even try.

While startups like Kickstarter and Indiegogo have helped celebrities fund some low-budget projects, such as Zach Braff’s Wish I Was Here and Spike Lee’s Da Sweet Blood of Jesus, crowdfunding has yet to have a significant impact on the industry. Hollywood’s long-running assembly line, which churns out movies by attaching cast and crew to film scripts, continues to serve the industry well.

After production wraps, however, the opportunities for innovation begin to present themselves. In the same way that digital video has replaced celluloid in the cameras used to shoot movies, digital technology is transforming the way films are distributed — and a wave of startups is racing to fix everything from marketing to ticket sales.

One of them is Los-Angeles-based Dealflicks, which describes itself as a “Priceline for movie tickets.” Founded in 2012, it partners with theater chains to offer discounts of up to 60 percent on tickets and concessions. “It’s a very old-school industry, so you need to get in there and get some face time to execute a deal,” says Dealflicks co-founder Kevin Hong, who spent more than two years driving around the country in a van to meet face-to-face with theater owners.