Cinemas are a night out, a first date or even a family affair. And for South Africans, faced with an array of viewing choices including TV, electronic tablets, laptops and their cellphones, movie theatres remain hugely popular.
This is evidenced by recent statistics, which revealed that South Africans spent R1.2billion on cinema tickets last year.
Nitesh Matai, Nu Metro Cinemas national managing executive, attributes the popularity of cinemas to the latest technology that is on offer. This as cinema companies continuously revamp and upgrade their cinemas to ensure that moviegoers experience the finest in luxury cinematic entertainment.
“Nu Metro identified the cinema experience, superior service levels and top-notch and advanced technology,” he says. These include multisensory 4DX theatres, premium large-format xtreme theatres, with Dolby Atmos sound and their in-cinema dining VIP complexes.
Meanwhile, competitor Ster-Kinekor offers a range of cinematic experiences for moviegoers including Cinema Nouveau, one of the world’s only dedicated “art cinema” chains, screening “art” titles from cultures all over the world.
Other features available at selected theatres include 2D and 3D theatres, as well as the interactive movie experience, D-Box.
It offers cinemagoers the chance to watch a movie on a 3D screen while all effects of the movie can be felt in the seat.
But despite the range of cinematic technology and experiences to choose from, moviegoers were still unhappy about the "unaffordable" ticket prices.
Another widespread grievance was that not enough attention was paid to local movies at major cinemas as the latest statistics showed that only 4% of the total movie tickets purchased were for local movies.
Last week, a new cinema company was launched which aims to screen local movies with tickets at a reasonable price.
Luyanda Jafta, chief executive of iStarring Cinemas, said to achieve this the public would get the opportunity to own the movie theatre.
“iStarring Cinemas is people-owned cinemas. We allow people to buy into the cinemas from as little as R150, which includes a R50 ticket, and earn their share of 15% for every ticket we sell.”
The introduction of iStarring Cinemas as a crowd-sourcing platform aimed to disrupt cinema ownership as well as what content takes preference.
“We hope to change the culture of going to the cinema. We hope to include everyone in the process as well as give the opportunity to the most important stakeholder, the cinemagoer, the ability to benefit in growing the economy.
"We hope our participation in this space will increase this,” said Jafta.
Those who attended iStarring Cinemas would have the chance to choose from a mix of old and new local films.
“After the initial trial period we hope to see what works and then let that determine what films get shown, so again the crowd decides with their pockets.”
Apart from experiencing a movie at iStarring Cinemas in a full-surround sound cinema through speakers that can be individually adjusted, people can also snack on local cuisine and beverages such as kotas, braai meat and craft beer, on trendy bean bag cushions while doing so.
“We have a bunch of merchants with distinctly South African food and drink to allow iStarring Cinemas to be the home away from home,” says Jafta.
“We want people to feel right at home at our cinemas. It’s their cinemas and they should not feel like they are visiting. We want the experience to build a sense of trust and become second nature to go watch a movie at iStarring Cinemas.”
Although there is currently only one iStarring Cinemas at the Brownsense Market in Midrand, Jafta said there were plans to open more countrywide, including three more in Gauteng, two in Cape Town, one in Durban as well as another in Mpumalanga.
Matai said Nu Metro supported the local film industry through various initiatives include hosting premieres for local films and meet-and-greets with local stars.
Nu Metro’s Mzansi project, he said, was working on an initiative to screen local productions from a variety of entertainment producers and prime-content providers on their big screens.
South African cinemas have some of the lowest ticket prices in the world, even when compared with similar economies internationally.
Nu Metro has partnered with various loyalty partners such as Clicks, Momentum, Absa and Santam to offer discounted movie tickets.