With Chinese cinemas becoming more crowded, many patrons are opting to go to private cinemas. (Photo : REUTERS)
A new kind of theater experience in the form of private cinemas is proving popular in China, especially among the youth.
According to Aimu Private Movie founder Chuan Ke, private movie theaters have been attracting an increasing number of followers and are predicting rising numbers.
Investor in private cinemas are confident that they can profit by winning a large share of the market, with China's box-office income surpassing 20 billion yuan ($3.1 billion) in the first six months of the year.
With similar cinemas existing in cities like New York and Paris, the cinemas first appeared in China in 2014 and have since been popular with the youth. Many young people favor these theaters because they can choose among many different titles, and they often use them as a setting to meet strangers they met online.
The theaters are especially popular to young people born in the 1990s, who have overtaken those born in the 1980s as the largest demographic of moviegoers in the nation, according to the China Film Association. The two demographics combined account for 92 percent of the total movie audience.
"In addition to the privilege of choosing what movie to play, customers of private theaters can enjoy a private space for more intimate interaction with friends, lovers and relatives," noted Yie Shuizhen, superintendent of Aimu Private Movie. Yie added that horror movies are especially popular among their patrons.
At present, private cinemas mostly offer second-run or even older films. This cuts the share of film costs to 10 percent, compared with 50 percent for first-run conventional cinemas.
According to Chuan, there are now 1,000 private cinemas in China. Two years ago, there were only 200, and Chuan said that in the coming years, the number may top 100,000.
Aimu and other private cinema companies are utilizing the Internet, especially movie-oriented social media platforms, in order to promote loyalty among consumers.
"We strengthen the link with our online followers with offline activities and plan to further boost the loyalty of our followers with activities like the filming of micro movies or the selection of movie icons," Chuan said.
