THE Henry Sy-led SM Prime Holdings Inc.’s lifestyle and entertainment arm is expecting cinema-ticket sales to grow between 6 percent and 8 percent this year, following the upgrade of its existing movie houses, the opening of more branches and the launch of a new theater format.

“Every year we’re growing in double digits. With all the progress [and development projects in the pipeline], of course, we’re always more confident that we’ll be able to hit our double-digit growth targets,” SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc. (SMLEI) President Edgar Tejerero told the BusinessMirror.

In 2015, he said, the company booked around P30 million in ticket sales for its chain of cinemas. This was achieved, Tejerero said, following the 12-percent hike in the number of cinemas, with 28 new screens, for a total of 307.

With 19 more new cinemas this year, the number of people coming in to SM cinemas is, likewise, seen to increase and generate ticket sales worth P31.8 million to P32.4 million by the end of December.

Market share-wise, the group currently commands 60 percent of the cinema industry nationwide.

Tejerero hopes to grow their hold of the market to 65 percent with their expansion program this year.

For 2016 SM Cinema is converting five of its theaters in “Mall of Asia [MOA], Megamall, North Edsa, Fairview and another branch in the South” of Luzon to laser-projection cinemas, which will emit better motion-picture quality for their patrons.

“Our objective of providing laser-projection system in [those] five branches is for us to give a lot of options for patrons to choose—being our top grossers for the circuit,” Tejerero said.

Apart from taking out the bulb projector and replacing it with a laser, he said they are increasing the size of the screen to make it appear wall-to-wall.

“It’s really similar to our laser-projector cinema in Cebu Seaside. I think it’s about 21 meters by 12 meters or 14 meters. The current size is 30 percent smaller than that,” he noted.

The top executive admitted that it would increase ticket prices a bit because of their huge investment, which he declined to reveal, since they have just submitted the budget for final approval in March.

“As you know, the pricing for all our premium cinemas like IMAX, Director’s Club should be at par or lower than that,” he cited. “In Cebu our laser-projection cinema is charging P300 to P350. [So], more or less, our price will be like that.”

SM Cinema is also set to introduce this year more branches of the Director’s Club Cinema: A community theater with plush leather recliner seats and minimal seating capacity for privacy.  Tejerero said they are also converting some of their movies houses in North Edsa and Marikina to Director’s Club by splitting them into two.

To reach out to more remote areas without access to cinema, the company will also launch the Blink Cinema, or a stand-alone community theater.

“We intend to start it this year and should end in three to five years from now. We identified 44 locations, of which 12 have already shown interest,” he said, citing that they offer this new business for franchise. Seeing the growing tech-savvy population in the country, the Blink Online Cinema will also be available, bringing never-before-seen films straight to the user’s mobile device. It also offers pay-per-view and rentals on a per-title basis.

For leisure and educational trip market, SMLEI will cater to them through The Manila-Acapulco Galleon Museum—a dome-shaped structure to be located in MOA, depicting the 250-year-old trade between the Philippines and Mexico.

“We are not looking only into building new businesses but also improving our current brands. That is why our objective in 2016 is to strengthen our structure, renovate our facilities, upgrade our service, and maintain our relevance,” Tejerero said.

“SMLEI’s goal this year is growth—not only for the expansion of the company, but for the economy. We want the world to take notice of the Philippines as a diverse and rapidly emergent country,” he said.