THE COUNTRY’s first four-dimensional (4-D) cinema, which will show the latest Hollywood blockbusters, will open at the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City as early as June, an official of the Sy-led mall operator said.

Edgar C. Tejerero, president of SM Lifestyle Entertainment, Inc. (SMLEI), said construction of the 100-square-meter 4-D cinema will begin next week.

To be called SM XD Theater, it will present Hollywood movies that combine thee-dimensional (3-D) technology and physical effects like rain or wind synchronization with whatever the audience is watching on the screen.

“There are 4-D theaters in amusement parks that probably show five-minute clips on how to ride a roller coaster. Our 4-D theater will present 4-D versions of wide-release 3-D Hollywood blockbusters,” Mr. Tejerero told BusinessWorld in an interview last Tuesday.

Mr. Tejerero said the technology that will be used in the SM XD Theater will come from South Korea, which has at least 14 4-D theaters in Seoul, Daegu, and Busan.

Effects simulated in a 4-D film may include rain, wind, strobe lights, and vibration. Seats in 4-D venues may vibrate or move a few inches during the presentations.

Other common chair effects include air jets, water sprays, and leg and back ticklers. Hall effects may include smoke, rain, lightning, air bubbles, and special scents.

Mr. Tejerero said the new SM XD Theater will be built in a portion of the open lobby of the current IMAX Theater at the SM Mall of Asia.

The new theater will be able to accommodate 50 guests at a time. 

Admission prices may range from P350 to P400 each.

“Once we are successful here [at the SM Mall of Asia], we will bring it elsewhere,” Mr. Tejerero said.

The company official said SM is already working on tie-ups with film distributors on which movies will be shown in the SM XD Theater.

Among the Hollywood movies that have 4-D versions are Shrek, Avatar, Transformers, Despicable Me, Ice Age, and Iron Man.

ANOTHER IMAX

Meanwhile, Mr. Tejerero said SM plans to open its ninth IMAX Theater in Cagayan de Oro next year.

“It [the new IMAX Theater] will be opened in the new mall that we are building in Cagayan de Oro, which will be closer to the city center,” he explained.

Currently, SM operates eight IMAX Theaters in the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City, SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City, SM Aura Premier in Taguig City, SM North EDSA in Quezon City, SM South Mall in Las Piñas, SM Clark in Pampanga, and SM Cebu and SM Lanang, both in Cebu City.

IMAX (short for Image MAXimum) is a motion picture film format and projection standard created by Canada’s IMAX Corp. IMAX differs from other film technologies due to its capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems.

The IMAX technology can recreate 3-D moving images, which gives the illusion of depth as seen by the viewer.

Aside from the IMAX Theaters, Mr. Tejerero said SM also plans to open more of its Director’s Club cinemas to cater to audiences age 35 and up who do not like watching films in large crowds.

Director’s Club cinemas have only 36-50 seats, less than half found in the standard SM cinemas. They feature plush recliner seats, free popcorn, and butler service.

“SM has always been stereotyped for catering only for the mass market, that is why we are coming up with offerings such as the Director’s Club,” he said.

“It offers personalized service. That is the brand promise,” he added.

There are currently eight Director’s Club cinemas, four of which are located at SM Southmall, two at SM Aura Premier, and one each at SM Mall of Asia and SM Megamall.

Mr. Tejerero said SM has plans to convert some standard theaters into Director’s Club theaters this year — four Director’s Club cinemas in SM North EDSA, and two in SM Fairview in Quezon City. A Director’s Club Cinema is also being planned for SM Cebu.

SM currently operates 267 cinemas in 47 SM Malls nationwide. The mall operator — through its business unit called SM Cinema — holds 60% of the market share of all movie theaters in the country, and as high as 90% market share among movie theater operators in key cities outside Metro Manila.

Mr. Tejerero said SM plans to open six new standard digital cinemas in Cauyan, Isabela when the SM mall opens there in May.

He added that SM has already completed renovations of the 18 cinemas that it bought last year from the Waltermart group of the Lim family. 

These movie theaters are called WM Cinemas and are located in Makati City, Batangas, Bulacan, Laguna, and Nueva Ecija.

Mr. Tejerero said SM will also take over the operations of the six cinemas in Megacenter The Mall in Cabanatuan City.

INTEGRATION

SM Cinema is one of the business units now integrated under SMLEI, which was formerly called West Avenue Theatres Corp. SMLEI is part of the listed SM Prime Holdings, Inc.

As of the end of 2012, SM Cinema tickets sales increased 14% to P3.48 billion from P3.05 billion in 2011 based on SM Prime’s annual report to the Philippine Stock Exchange.

The higher ticket sales were due to more blockbuster movies shown in 2012, as well as the conversion of all cinema screens to digital.

SM Cinema has also started the rollout of the cinema turnstile system in 2012, which made the cinema viewing experience more convenient for customers and led to an increase in foot traffic.

SM Prime’s third quarter net income grew 14% to P8.43 billion in 2013, from P7.40 billion in 2012. Gross revenues in the nine months ending September 2013 expanded 12% to P24.77 billion from P22.10 billion in the same nine-month period in 2012.