Beyond technology, SM Cinema extends its world-class experience to persons with disability (PWD) by providing dedicated areas for their convenience. SM Cinema also holds separate screenings of sensory friendly movies for those with special needs such as the blind and deaf, as well as children with autism and down syndrome.
“We are very pleased to bring state-of-the-art cinema technology and a whole new movie experience out into the suburbs and provincial areas. We remain focused in providing the complete entertainment experience to every corner in the country,” SM Lifestyle Entertainment President Edgar Tejerero said.
For 2015, SM Cinema added four fully digitized cinemas in SM Center Angono in Rizal, its 55th branch. With digital surround-sound technology, the cinemas in Angono promise to deliver an optimum movie-watching experience. Each theatre will cater to 200 patrons in a stadium-like seating, making certain that all patrons will enjoy the view from any seat they choose.
In Cebu, SM Cinema recently added the first laser projection system in Southeast Asia in its large screen cinema at the recently opened SM Seaside City, Cebu. This format uses the Christie® 6P laser projection system and features a super-sized screen almost 30% larger than the regular cinema screen size. The Christie® 6P laser produces the brightest images with 80% illumination and offers the best 3D platform that accurately reproduces the colors of the actual movie set, developing the most immersive cinema experience. The SM Large Screen Cinema also proudly uses the DOLBY ATMOS Sound System and the top-of-the-line Christie Vive Speakers, its audience fully immersed in surround-sound technology. SM Large Screen Cinema will house 351 guests in stadium-like seats.
Earlier this year, SM Cinema also opened in Cabanatuan City through SM Megacenter and SM Cabanatuan; in Rizal Province through SM San Mateo and SM Angono; and in Caloocan through SM Sangandaan. SM Cinema also partnered with housing arm SM Development Corp to open its cinemas at Light Mall, the first theater available in an SM residential complex.
Tejerero added that he is optimistic that ticket sales will be robust by the end of 2015 given blockbuster movies such as Heneral Luna, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, A Second Chance, Felix Manalo and movies shown during the Metro Manila Film Festival in December.