Moviegoers in the country are in for more theater choices as the Sy-led SM Prime Holdings, Inc. aims to open at least two  dozen new cinemas within its soon-to-open shopping malls next year.

Ric D. Camaligan, Vice-President of Leisure Center, Inc., said SM plans to open eight new cinemas in Marikina City, and four movie houses each in Muntinlupa City, Bacolod City, Tarlac, and Tanay, Rizal. Leisure Center runs the theater operations of the Sy-led SM malls. Leisure Center is under SM Prime Holdings, the country’s leading shopping mall developer and operator.

“There are so many beautiful Filipino movies, and we [at SM] want to be part of their success by showcasing them in our cinemas,�? Mr. Camaligan told BusinessWorld in the vernacular. “That’s why we intend to open more cinemas next year,�? he added. For the nine months ending September, SM Prime Holdings said its cinema ticket sales grew 31% to P1.19 billion this year, from P906.44 million for last year.

The company attributed the increase to the blockbuster movies shown in 2006 including Superman Returns, X-Men 3, Mission Impossible 3, and Pirates of the Caribbean 2. He said there are currently 182 SM cinemas nationwide, including the gigantic SM IMAX theater at the Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

MORE IMAX THEATERS

SM’s IMAX theater in the Mall of Asia is the first IMAX theater in the country. The IMAX theater uses Canadian technology that projects large format films onto a giant screen for very good image quality. The theater has a 3D feature where the audiences are provided polarized IMAX 3D eyeglasses. Encouraged by the success of the company’s first IMAX theater, SM has announced plans to open a second one at the SM North EDSA by 2008.

Meanwhile, Mr. Camaligan said the company is studying the possibility of opening a third IMAX theater in Cebu within the next two to three years. “We think two IMAX movie houses would be enough for Metro Manila, so we are looking at putting up our third one in the Visayas, possibly in Cebu. But nothing is final yet,�? he said. SM Prime Holdings Vice-President for Finance and Administration Jeffrey C. Lim earlier told reporters that the company has allotted about P5 billion for the construction of new malls to be opened next year.

Mr. Lim said the company plans to open new malls in Bacolod City, Muntinlupa City, Tagaytay City, and an expansion mall at the current SM City Cebu. “The P5 billion will be used for the construction of new malls, as well as for land banking [buying potential mall sites]… The money will be a healthy mix of internally generated cash and borrowings,�? Mr. Lim earlier said.

MORE MALLS

There are currently 27 SM malls in the country, including its 5th mall for this year, SM City Lipa in Batangas. The company’s malls have a total gross floor area of 3.6 million square meters. Earlier this year, SM Prime Holdings launched SM City Sta. Rosa in Laguna, SM City Clark in Pampanga, and its largest mall, the SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City. It has also opened SM Supercenter in Pasig City. Aside from these, SM Prime Holdings also opened the Block, an extension of its first mall, SM North EDSA in Quezon City. SM Prime Holdings opened three new malls last year, including SM City San Lazaro in Manila, SM Supercenter Valenzuela, and SM Supercenter in Molino, Bacoor, Cavite. SM Prime Holdings earlier said it intends to build four to five malls annually for the next three years in 14 locations including, among others, Marikina, Parañaque, Muntinlupa, Bulacan, Tarlac, Laguna, and Pangasinan.