Leading U.S. Cinema Exhibitor Studio Movie Grill Signs With Vista Entertainment Solutions and Movio to Enhance Theater Offerings to Customers

DALLAS, TX and AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND--(Marketwired - Jun 29, 2015) -  Studio Movie Grill (SMG), an innovator in the in-theater dining experience among U.S. cinema exhibitors, has signed with Vista Group International (Vista) companies Vista Entertainment Solutions (VES) and Movio to enhance its service offerings.

Based in Dallas, Texas, SMG has more than 200 screens in over 20 locations across 10 states, with more expansion on the way.

The announcement demonstrates the synergy created by Vista's acquisition of U.S. ticketing software company Ticketsoft in March of this year. For Ticketsoft customers, such as SMG, their integration into Vista's global, industry-leading cinema management software portfolio provides numerous immediate and long-term benefits. 

"Providing an industry leader such as Studio Movie Grill with access to Vista's extended product range is exactly the sort of development we hoped for when we acquired Ticketsoft," says Murray Holdaway, Vista's Chief Executive. 

VES is the core business of Vista Group and the leading global supplier of software to the cinema industry's Large Circuit Market (cinema exhibitors operating more than 20 screens) with over 400 customers in over 60 countries, and software installed at more than 4,000 sites, servicing 30,000 cinema screens. Movio is the global leader in marketing data, analysis, insights, and campaign creation and management for theatrical exhibitors, studios and film distributors. Capturing the behavior of 30 million consumers in real-time, Movio provides authoritative market intelligence for many of the world's largest cinema chains.

"SMG is a premier cinema exhibitor in the U.S. and we're honored to welcome them to the VES family," says VES President Derek Forbes. "This is a great example of how we're able to build upon the Ticketsoft infrastructure to present SMG with a more expansive suite of state-of-the-art services and innovation." 

"SMG's partnership with VES and Movio enables us to streamline and integrate operations," said Julia Landrum, SMG's Vice President, Revenue. "Our staff can now offer enhanced service and convenience to our customers. Additionally, Movio will allow us to provide our moviegoers with information on the films and offers that are of most interest to them."

Adopting these platforms enables SMG to optimize their business and sales processes. Through deployment of the entire VES platform, SMG can achieve superior functionality for food and beverage ordering, in-seat delivery, split billing, and tip management, enhancing their customers' end-to-end experience and providing visitors with the best cinema hospitality in the industry. Generating in-depth consumer insights based on market analytics, Movio will collaborate with SMG to develop its new and enhanced customer loyalty program.

"Movio is thrilled to support Studio Movie Grill in designing, developing, and launching its new loyalty program. Movio Cinema will help the company to understand and influence their guests in a way that will increase incremental revenue through visitation, spend and preference," says Will Palmer, Chief Executive of Movio. "The ability to extend personalized offers to its most avid audience will revolutionize SMG's interaction with their customers."

About Studio Movie Grill

Studio Movie Grill (SMG), long considered the leader of in-theater dining exhibition, recently announced a major expansion initiative and the upcoming openings of new theaters in the North East and Southern California in Philadelphia and Simi Valley as well as new locations in the Texas market -- its home state. More expansion is planned. Established in 2000, SMG has swiftly grown to 21 locations in ten states. These new locations will add over 34 screens, ranking Studio Movie Grill the 20th largest exhibitor in the U.S. SMG modernized the traditional movie-going experience by combining first-run movies with in-theater dining and is characterized in the market today by its continued ability to innovate and maximize movie and menu offerings.

Website: www.studiomoviegrill.com
Twitter: @studiomoviegril
Facebook: www.facebook.com/studiomoviegrillfan
Vimeo: vimeo.com/studiomoviegrill

About Vista Group International
Vista Group International (Vista Group) is a public company, listed on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges (NZSE: VGL) (ASX: VGI). Vista Group provides cinema management, film distribution and customer analytics software to companies across the global film industry. Cinema management software is provided by Vista Entertainment Solutions, the core business of the Group. Movio (data analytics), Veezi (cloud-based SaaS software for the Independent Circuit Market), MACCS (film distribution software) and Numero (box office reporting software for film distributors and cinemas), products leverage the success of this platform into other parts of the film industry; from production and distribution, to cinema exhibition through to the moviegoer experience. It is estimated that in excess of a billion cinema tickets are processed every year through Vista products. Vista Group has over 250 staff across six offices in New Zealand (Auckland headquarters), Australia, the USA, the UK, the Netherlands, and China. Website: www.vistagroup.co

About Vista Entertainment Solutions
Vista Entertainment Solutions Ltd (VES) is the world-leader in cinema management software solutions with installations in over 60 countries across all continents and an estimated 38% global market share in the Large Cinema Circuit market. The Vista software product line is both integrated & scalable, suited to cinema exhibitor's operating 20+ screens and up to 100's of cinemas. Vista software comprises multiple software modules required to deliver optimal box office return, total cinema management, and internal and external analysis and reporting. VES is head-quartered in Auckland, New Zealand and has subsidiaries incorporated in Los Angeles, London, and Shanghai.

Website: www.vista.co
Twitter: @VistaNZ
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/vista-entertainment-solutions

About Movio
Movio is the global leader in marketing data analytics and campaign management software for cinema exhibitors, film distributors and studios. Movio's mission is to revolutionize the way the film industry interacts with moviegoers. Movio's flagship product, Movio Cinema holds comprehensive marketing data covering 21 percent of cinema screens worldwide (15,970 screens). Movio maintains real-time, authoritative data on the loyalty activity and transactions for many of the world's biggest cinema chains, and captures the behavior of over 30 million moviegoers. Movio operates in North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Australia, New Zealand, China, and South East Asia.

Website: www.movio.co
Twitter: @MovioHQ
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/movio