TO make movie experience truly enjoyable and memorable for parents and their children, retail giant SM Supermalls will open next year children’s cinemas with two big slides inside the moviehouse that can be used as entry points.
“It is a combination of play and movies so children will be allowed to play about an hour also or an hour and a half before they watch a movie,” said Edgar Tejerero, president of SM Lifestyle Entertainment Inc.
He said the cinemas exclusive for children will be opened starting next year and will be rolled out in some of its bigger malls like in SM North Edsa, SM Megamall and SM Mall of Asia.
He said adjustments will be made in the programming to make it suitable for children. Even the structure of the cinema, he said, will be child-friendly.
“The programming is really suited for children and at the same time the structure will be quite unique because we intend to have two big slides inside the auditorium. So if you are a kid at heart and you want to enter the cinema you can use the slide,” he said.
He further stated that the cinemas will just be one of the major changes in SM cinemas next year as they are set to roll out major changes in the movie experience geared at changing the lifestyle of Filipinos.
“Next year, you’ll see a lot of changes in our malls because as you know SM cinema is the first to build cinemas in the malls. By next year we are changing a lot in terms of look, in terms of set-up and concept,” he stated.
Tejerero said they will also launch next year interactive and stand alone cinemas that will change not only how people watch cinemas but address the widespread movie piracy. More Director’s Club cinemas, the 50-seater cinemas, will also be built to answer to the clamor for more security and exclusivity in the movie experience, he said.
Tejerero pointed out that the next SM cinemas will have inter-active games and will have cafés to cater to those who want to make the experience more intimate.
“Interactive games will be featured in the cinema lobby like dart games so moviegoers can have some activities while waiting for the movies to start,” he said.
The first stand-alone cinema will also be opened in Bataan and Boracay in the middle of 2017.
Tejerero pointed out that they have decided to open stand-alone cinemas to address piracy in the province. “Because people in the provinces seldom have easy access to malls and cinemas, piracy is rampant which is the reason why we will be bringing the cinemas to them,” he stated.