With the help of a controversial movie ticket service, Dallas-based Studio Movie Grill is filling a lot more seats.

Unlike the AMC theater chain, which launched a scathing attack on the MoviePass service in a news release last month, Studio Movie Grill is an investor in the service that, as of August, allows consumers to see a movie a day for less than $10 a month.

It was the first major theater chain to buy an ownership stake in the service. But Mitch Lowe, MoviePass chief executive, said that at least 14 independent chains have contacted him since the brand's website began blowing up with consumers eager to cash in on the $9.95-a-month deal.

The service allows consumers to see up to 365 movies a year for a monthly fee that rivals one day's ticket price in some markets. MoviePass pays the theater owner the regular ticket price, which can be $11 in some markets for one movie.

That price does not apply to 3-D movies.

The service began in 2011 but didn't show up on most consumers' radar until last month when the $9.95 price was announced. The previous price was up to $50 a month, depending on the market.

AMC calls it a "shaky and unsustainable program" and said in the long term that it threatens to harm both theaters and movie studios. But consumers are signing up in droves.

"Our customer frequency is going up in Dallas, at Studio Movie Grill, 400 percent," said Lowe, referring to the increase in customer visits.

"Our [subscription] sales in Dallas have gone up many times over just the last week."

Lowe said Studio Movie Grill founder and owner Brian Schultz shares his goal to figure out "what can be done to get people excited about going back to the movies. The industry really needs a lot of options."

Schultz could not be reached for comment. But a spokeswoman pointed to Studio Movie Grill's own recent news release.

"Programs like MoviePass encourage more frequent movie-going, which is a win-win for everyone," Studio Movie Grill said in the release. "By embracing these programs, we are not only offering a valuable opportunity for our guests to attend more movies, but also supporting our studio partners and team by building on attendance."

Staggering growth

The new majority owner of MoviePass, data analytics firm Helios and Matheson Analytics Inc., recently put out a news release announcing staggering growth figures since the price dropped to $9.95 a month.

In one theater chain, during the six-day period from Aug. 15 through Aug. 20, the number of theater seats filled by MoviePass members increased from 206 to about 4,137 compared with the previous week, according to the release.

In another theater chain, during the same period, the number of theater seats filled by MoviePass members increased from 203 to about 1,795.

The release did not identify the chains but said they have theaters in 10 states, including Texas, Arizona and Illinois.

The pass not only boosts ticket sales, it's also creating more of a market for Studio Movie Grill's extensive menu of food and drinks, a category that makes up a sizable portion of revenue. In general, theater operators collect more profit from concessions than from ticket prices.

Despite the potential upside in the short term, AMC has declared that "MoviePass [is] not welcome here."

The price "announcement by a small fringe player in the reselling of movie tickets is not in the best interest of moviegoers, movie theaters and movie studios," AMC said. "Accordingly, AMC is consulting with its attorneys to determine if or how AMC can prevent a subscription program offered by MoviePass from being used at AMC Theatres in the United States."

AMC Theatres still are listed on the MoviePass website as participating outlets.

The pass works and looks like a regular debit card. Some industry watchers said that makes it hard for chains to block the card users.

Since MoviePass reimburses the theaters 100 percent of the cost of the ticket price, there's no harm, no foul for now. Some online posters fear that as MoviePass gets larger, it will have more clout and might boost prices or reduce the price it pays to theater owners.

Gathering data

Peter Sciretta of slashfilm.com sees the endgame as data — a gazillion bytes of data.

The larger the MoviePass audience, the more the company knows about consumer behavior, down to the day, time and location of a movie purchase.

Sciretta thinks that's the reason Helios and Matheson Analytics, which specializes in "predictive big data analytics," bought a majority stake in MoviePass.

"They're fronting the bill for how much money it's going to cost MoviePass to build their customer base, hopefully by the millions," he said in a post. "Then the company plans to use all the data they collect from monitoring their users' activity as a way to figure out how to better market movies to not just their users, but audiences in general."

Lowe insists the data won't be sold, but it will be used to help with marketing. And down the line, if MoviePass markets a particular movie and boosts sales, it might like to claim a cut of that increase, he said.

Lowe said several major chains have said they will continue to work with the program.

"We really see ourselves as an innovative company," Lowe said, adding that he hopes he and the theater owners can "all work together."

Twitter: @krobijake