MovieFone Acquired for $1.075M at Bankruptcy AuctionMovieFone Acquired for $1.075M at Bankruptcy Auction

Theater ticket website MovieFone has been acquired at a bankruptcy auction for a bid of $1.075 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Born In Cleveland was listed as the winning bidder for the site, according to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

Most recently, the company was owned by Helios & Matheson, owner of the bankrupt MoviePass. The company acquired the site in 2018 from AOL’s parent company, aiming to use the six million average monthly audience to grow its subscriber base. MovieFone was sold to AOL in 1999 for $388 million.

The service was part of the $4.4 billion sale of AOL to Verizon in 2015 before it sold in April 2018 to Helios & Matheson.

MovieFone debuted in 1989 as an interactive phone guide for movie listings and showtimes. It launched a website called MovieLink in 1995 and once boasted 100 million users of its service.

MovePass said it hit three million subscribers in 2018, but it changed it pricing plans often, running into a cash crunch. Helios & Matheson filed for bankruptcy in late January 2020.