Moviefone calls it quits, phone service no longer available

Moviefone is adapting to the 21st century, a world where people no longer call anyone to talk. That means that the calling service will soon only exist in the realm of Seinfeld.

Anyone who called 777-FILM this past weekend to find movie times or order tickets were told that Moviefone is ending its phone service, notes The New York Times. “The 777-FILM numbers will no longer be in service in the near future,” the message said, not even starting with the iconic “Hello, and welcome to Moviefone!” The message continued, “To buy tickets and for all of your showtime information please download the free Moviefone app on your smartphone or iPad.”

The news follows founder Russ Leatherman’s departure last fall. Back in October, AllThingsD reported that AOL and BermanBraun are planning a reboot of the service.

AOL actually paid $388 million for the service in 1999, but Fandango and MovieTickets.com soon eclipsed Moviefone in popularity.

“The call-in service has been in pretty steady decline,” BermanBraun president Jeff Berman told the Times. “Our customers are much more interested in our award-winning app, and we need to invest our resources in the future, part of which involves a major reimagining of Moviefone.”

No further details on the new Moviefone were provided, but the old Moviefone will join the pile of extinct pop culture phenomena that Seinfeld lampooned.

image courtesy of Moviefone.com

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