Snap Inc on Thursday announced Atom Tickets as a premiere launch partner for Snap Minis, a new branded third-party experience within Snapchat that will include the Atom Mini called Movie Tickets By Atom.
The feature tailored for Snapchat will let users make movie plans with friends and buy tickets without leaving the popular social media app, bypassing “the group texts and money requests that come with organizing a traditional movie night with friends,” Snap said. Movie Tickets by Atom is expected to be available in the U.S. and Canada this summer.
Atom Tickets is a social movie ticketing app backed by Lionsgate, Disney and Fidelity Management & Research Company. The agreement comes as chains, which have been shuttered since mid-March by COVID-19, begin to announce plans for phased reopenings starting later this month.
The Atom Ticket news is one of a stream of announcements from Snap’s second annual Snap Partner Summit, held virtually this year. Earlier today, the Santa Monica-based tech company unveiled content deals, media partners, a new slate and augmented reality tools.
As for Movie Tickets by Atom, Snapchat users can share a post containing event details with individual friends, a group or to a Snap Story. The post will include a link for friends to get their own tickets to join in and choose seats nearby. Snap said the new socially distanced seating measures that many theaters are adopting will be present in reserved seat maps within the Mini.
Movie fans can share a synopsis and trailer to Snapchat and rally friends to see the movie together. They can add images, stickers, text and a Snapchat Bitmoji, which will show up in their selected seat when they link the account with Atom.
“It’s clear that our customers are Snap users and that Snap users are movie lovers,” said Matthew Bakal, Atom Tickets co-founder and chairman. “We’re always looking at where our customers spend their time so that we can deliver the best experience in a way that’s most convenient for them. The Movie Tickets by Atom Mini builds upon our existing DNA as a socially driven platform that makes moviegoing easier and brings friends together.”
The Movie Tickets by Atom Mini extends a previous relationship between the two companies. Earlier this year, Atom introduced Share to Snap in the Atom Tickets app to share trailers and movie plans from Atom to Snap story or chat.
Chris Brucia, chief product officer at Atom Tickets, said the Atom Mini was shaped to emphasize discovery features Snapchat users find most appealing like watching trailers and sharing movie plans with friends.
“We couldn’t be more excited to have Atom Tickets as one of our Snap Mini launch partners,” said Alston Cheek, Director of Platform Partnerships at Snap, Inc. “We know that Snapchat users are heavy moviegoers, so it makes perfect sense to offer them a way to seamlessly buy movie tickets within Snap. Atom’s social approach to movie ticketing makes them the ideal partner.”
The Movie Tickets by Atom Mini will support ticketing for all of Atom’s exhibitor partners including AMC Theatres, Cinemark, Harkins Theatres, National Amusements’ Showcase Cinemas, CMX Cinemas, Landmark in Cinemas of Canada, Studio Movie Grill, Malco Theatres, Landmark Theatres, ArcLight Cinemas, and Larry H. Miller Megaplex Theatres among others.