This year, the company demonstrated not only its premium immersive theaters such as
4DX and
ScreenX, but also the company’s own cinema solutions and technologies such as CRM, NOC & TMS, and PhotoTicket. The result was CGV’s booth at the trade show being visited by over 1,000 people each day on average, including movie theater owners, press, and cinema industry executives.
The company's “Cultureplex” philosophy was one of the hot topics in many panel discussions and presentations by film industry executives at the convention. For instance, on Day 1 of CinemaCon at the “International Day Breakfast Session,” Alejandro Ramirez, CEO and General Director at Cinepolis, praised CGV’s technologies, saying, “The special cinema technologies of South Korea’s CJ CGV, like 4DX, will become one of the leading cinema trends of the future.”
As cinema companies look to the future, CGV is delivering a differentiated experience for moviegoers to make them want to come back again and again. A large number of cinema exhibitors, press and general public visited CGV booth and witnessed what CGV has brought to the show.
In addition to the CGV booth on the exhibition floor, on Monday, April 11
th, ScreenX also offered demo sessions at AMC Town Square 14, one of two ScreenX sites in the U.S. For the second year at the convention, ScreenX demonstrated its upgraded technologies and content, which received attention from both exhibitors and studios. There was tremendous interest for this format, in which several private demo sessions were held inviting Hollywood studios and global top-tier exhibitors that helped advance discussions of expansion of ScreenX.
Additionally, ScreenX unveiled this year’s feature film lineup at the session which included two Korean films and two Chinese films:
·
Operation Chromite follows the heroic Korean soldiers who carried out a pivotal covert operation during the Korean War. Liam Neeson stars as General MacArthur. Lee Jung-jae and Lee Beom-soo also star. The film is directed by Lee Jae-han and produced by Taewon Entertainment. ScreenX will be utilized during the battle scenes as well as some of the other key action sequences. (July 2016)
·
Train to Busan, an action thriller in which passengers on a train from Seoul to Busan struggle to survive after a disastrous virus hits South Korea. Gong Yoo, Ma Dong-Seok and Jung Yu-mi star.
Train to Busan is directed by Yeon Sang-ho and produced by Red Peter. When watching the film in ScreenX, the sense of space inside the train will be emphasized by the 270-degree view, and audiences will feel the movement of the train as the action progresses. (July 2016)
·
Call of Heroes 危成 is an upcoming Hong Kong action film produced and directed by Benny Chan, with action direction by Sammo Hung, and starring Sean Lau, Louis Koo, Eddie Peng, Yuan Quan, Jiang Shuying, with a special appearance by Wu Jing. The film is set in 1914 during the collapse of the Qing Dynasty and follows the story of a group of villagers who stand up to a cruel young warlord. The fight scenes were shot in ScreenX giving movie-goers a full 270-degree view of the martial arts action. (August 2016)
·
Few Bullets (快手枪手快枪手) is set in the 1940s, when two Chinese snipers try to take back the royal seal from Japan. In doing so they travel to Manchuria, Shanghai, and Nanjing.
For a Few Bullets is directed by Anzi Pan and distributed by Wanda Pictures. Many of the spectacular landscapes and action sequences will be presented in ScreenX. (July 2016)
This was 4DX’s fourth year participating in CinemaCon. This year 4DX introduced upcoming movie trailers with a brand-new environmental effect “Vivid Fog” at the 4DX mini demo booth inside the CGV booth. 4DX also revealed for the first time, “4DX VR” to the CinemaCon audience. “4DX VR” is the combination of 4DX’s motion seats with Virtual Reality devices, which makes the experience even more immersive and realistic. This was quite the attraction at CinemaCon, drawing lines of convention goers to try it out for themselves.
In terms of business performance, 4DX signed a contract with Cineplex, Canada’s number one cinema chain, and with KNCC (Kuwait National Cinema Company), the leading cinema company in Kuwait, to open the countries' first 4DX auditoriums. In China, currently the largest market for 4DX, the company signed an MOU with SFC to open 20 more 4DX theaters. There were also meetings with exhibitors in North America, as well as Western Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America, making big steps forward towards 4DX’s global expansion.
The CGV booth displayed the most advanced cinema solutions and technologies in the market, such as CGV NOC (Network Operation Center), TMS (Theater Management System), CRM (Customer Relationship Management), and PhotoTicket products, which was a refreshing sight to the global cinema industry. Many cinema owners showed great interest in these solutions during business meetings with each product owner.
Jung Seo, CEO at CJ CGV, said, “By participating in CinemaCon this year, CGV has opened up new opportunities to expand its special cinema technologies and expertise in movie theater operations - and bring awareness to “Cultureplex” - to global markets.”
