If you thought going to the movies was about sitting in an auditorium and watching a film, think again! That’s old hat; it’s what cinemas used to be. Now it’s about having dinner and drinks, in bed, with a massage before or after! And there’s more…
Been to the movies lately? You may have noticed that the operators are now offering more than just the Gold Class experience. The experience goes way beyond the screen as now there is the cinema itself in play as I mentioned in my last article with the new boutique offering from Events. Events also now offers cinema goers a choice of upgrading their seats in select auditoriums from standard seats to full recliners or even a double daybed.
The boutique offering from Events
Palace Cinemas at Central Park Sydney has been doing the experience since opening with its bar, lounge and dine in option and personalised service. Meanwhile, Village with its VJunior offering at Westfield Southlands has specifically targeted the kids with more than just popcorn and snacks.
Palace Cinema, Central Park Sydney
It combines movies and playtime so kids can have double the fun with a dance floor in front of the screen, plus a choice of yellow bean bag style seat or a red recliner chair. Thirty minutes before the screening, kids can also play with Hot Wheels activity tables, Scrabble wall game and the biggest surprise – a huge slide running down one side of the movie theatre. And for full length movies they hold a ten-minute break to candy up or slip down the slide again.
Vjunior by Village Cinemas
Meanwhile, HOYTS has created a new offering starting in Christchurch, New Zealand called EntX with faux leather recliner seats, an airline style call button for service at every seat, and beer, and food by celebrity chef Manu Feildel delivered mid movie.
HOYTS company spokesman said “we haven’t spared much expense getting it right in the look and feel of the place”.
HOYTS has created a new offering starting in Christchurch, New Zealand called EntX
At Disney World in Florida they have recreated the feel of a drive-in cinema with their sci-fi dine in offering. Intricately themed as a sound stage containing a 60s era drive-in movie theatre, patrons seated in fun classic cars are offered both lunch and dinner and an experience on steroids.
Disney World in Florida they have recreated the feel of a drive-in cinema with their sci-fi dine in offering
Over in Hawaii the Waikoloa Luxury Cinemas is no ordinary cinema and here is what to expect, according to its website: “A full service bar, covered outdoor dining Lanai or there’s a dine in option where all food and beverages can be delivered to your seat”. They also offer luxurious love seats with removable centre armrests for cuddling.
The Bistro, Lanai dining
A hotel chain McMenamis in the US has aligned its hotel offering with boutique cinemas, converting two old schools, Kennedys and St Francis into theatres with leather lounges and easy chairs while offering F&B from their adjacent hotels in Bend and Portland in Oregon. Another US boutique cinema operator Landmark looks more like you have wandered into a hotel lobby rather than a movie theatre. The bar is designed front and centre of the lobby and is part of the attraction.
Landmark Atlantic Plumbing cinema, Washington
There are movie themed drinks, a lounge area where you can enjoy a meal before and after the screening and the box office is more akin to a hotel guest service desk. In Williamsburg, Brooklyn NYC boutique Nite Hawk cinema is more restaurant than cinema, where pre-screening wait staff take your food and drink order while you’re entertained by a band. With its communal seating arrangement it’s more like hanging out in a friend’s living room than a theatre.
In Bangkok, for those who love the high-end cinema experience, head to the Enigma Theatre at the Paragon cineplex where you lounge in comfortable sofa beds, enjoying delectable meals and crafted cocktails by a resident mixologist. There is a pre movie VIP lounge and even a spa room where you can enjoy a massage before your movie.
Enigma theatre at Paragon cineplex, Bangkok
In London, UK they have taken the immersive experience to another level through Secret Cinemas Worldwide. The London-based group don’t host events in a single space and organise monthly movies shrouded in mystery. Patrons aren’t told the screening location or movie until the day it is showing. You’re only told once you register and you gather at a predetermined location. From there hired actors put on a live action version of scenes from the movie before screening begins. As their website says “In a secret location, we open up the doors to an evening of suspense and spectacle beyond any film lover’s imagination”. Once registered, an online invitation arrives giving you a bespoke identity, mission and recommended dress code for the evening, related to the secret screening. Their site further says the action unfolds around you, no two show are the same and expect an evening filled with action, dance and plenty of surprises as a film classic is brought to life in front of your eyes.
A recent event was Moulin Rouge that received the Secret Cinema treatment. An undisclosed corner of London was transformed into 1890’s Montmartre replete with a den of sin. Guests were sent the invitation detailing what character they must come dressed as, be it a corset wearing dancer or a top hat and tails gentleman. They were told to gather at a tube station where they were met by ushers who led them to the venue set in Belle Époque Paris.
So it seems it’s no longer about just going to the movies anymore, because after all you can do that at home.
