Theatrical ticket subscription service MoviePass reportedly has acquired a stake in Gotti, the biographical crime drama starring John Travolta as infamous New York mobster John Gotti.
The acquisition – announced at CinemaCon in Las Vegas – marks the second deal for MoviePass’ financing arm, MoviePass Ventures, following pickup of indie drama, American Animals, at Sundance Film Festival in February.
Gotti, which features Kelly Preston (Travolta’s wife) as Gotti’s wife Victoria and was directed by Kevin Connolly (HBO’s “Entourage”), was originally slated to be released last December by Lionsgate Premiere, the specialty film unit that distributes titles theatrically, on video-on-demand and streaming – sometimes concurrently.
But just 10 days before release, Lionsgate sold the distribution rights back to the movie’s producers – a move that sparked speculation in the media and a public outcry from Travolta.
Gotti is now slated for a June 15 theatrical launch targeting MoviePass’ 2+ million subscribers, which the service believes will help theaters generate increased foot traffic and concession sales, among other ancillary revenue.
“Acquiring a stake in Gotti is exciting for MoviePass Ventures, because … [it] equates to an even larger, positive impact on downstream revenue such as theatrical domestic and international distribution rights, streaming rights, DVD rights, transactional rights, on-demand, and foreign movie rights,” Ted Farnsworth, CEO of MoviePass parent Helios and Matheson, said in a statement as reported by Deadline.
American Animals is slated for a June 1 theatrical debut.