New megaplex hopes to blitz movie theater industry

Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung

The newly opened nine-screen Blitz Megaplex in Bandung, West Java, offers a new option for movie fans in an industry that has been dominated by 21 Cineplex.

Blitz opened its first megaplex this month in Bandung's Paris van Java shopping mall. It plans to open megaplexes in more cities, with its ultimate goal to become a major player in the country's movie theater industry.

"It's a daring idea, opening a movie theater in Bandung, where there have not been many moviegoers," said Yana Mulyana, a spokesman for Kharisma Jabar Film, the sole movie distributor in West Java.

The chairman of the All Indonesia Movie Theater Companies Association, Edison Nainggolan, warmly welcomed the new megaplex.

"It means they believe Bandung is a safe city, because a movie theater business will die in a city with poor security," Edison told The Jakarta Post in Bandung.

The arrival of Blitz could also herald a revival of a movie theater industry that has been flagging in recent years.

Edison said that in the 1990s, Indonesia had around 3,300 movie screens belonging to more than 500 companies.

But fewer and fewer people have been going to the movies, partly the result of the explosion in affordable VCD and DVD machines and cheap, pirated discs.

"The number of moviegoers has sharply decreased, leaving only around 400 screens left in the country," Edison said, adding that several cities in West Java, such as Banjar, Ciamis and Majalengka, no longer had a movie theater.

Though there is no official data, Yana said there were now only 40 movie theaters across West Java with 144 screens.

He said the decline in the number of moviegoers started in 1994. That year, the province had 213 theaters with 417 screens, which could accommodate 137,000 viewers. By 1997 there were only 160 theaters with 359 screens and 102,000 seats.

"With the large trade in pirated VCDs and DVDs at such low prices, people can easily watch movies at home without having to pay for expensive tickets or spend money on transportation," Yana said.

Before the arrival of Blitz, there were only 10 theaters in Bandung with a total of 41 screens. Most of these surviving theaters, Edison said, are located in shopping malls.

Since opening Blitz has drawn in good crowds, including many students and young executives. Part of its early success is the choice offered by Blitz, which features nine screens. Previously, the largest theater in the city was the seven-screen Ciwalk21.

Fikri Fadillah, a 27-year-old businessman, was elated with the new theater.

"The service is good and the prices are competitive, not too expensive," he said.

Ticket prices at the theater are Rp 25,000 for Hollywood offerings and the latest Indonesian films, and Rp 15,000 for independent movies.

Bandung Institute of Technology student Aditya Himawan, 21, said it was good to have a movie theater that would screen independent films.

"Maybe because the theater is still new, the sound quality is great and the place is neat. In other places, out of five screens, only two are good quality," he said.

Blitz's arrival was also greeted by producer-director Nias Dinata, who said the theater would help Indonesian films stay in theaters longer.

"Filmmakers will have more space to screen our films in the country, because right now there are not enough movie theaters ...," she said.

Blitz marketing director Wendy Soeweno said the market for movie theaters was wide open, considering the lack of entertainment facilities in the country.

"People need more entertainment facilities to give them a break from their routines," Wendy said.

She said Blitz would open its second theater, an 11-screen megaplex with 3,200 seats, in Jakarta before the end of the year.