By Tuong Vi in HCMC
Megastar Cineplex, in the middle of this month, will open three more three-dimension (or 3D) cinemas, two in HCMC and one in Hanoi.
3D screenings are featured in HCMC at cinemas 5 and 6 at Hung Vuong Plaza (126 Hung Vuong Street, District 5), and at cinema 3 at CT Plaza (60A Truong Son Street, Tan Binh District), and in Hanoi, at cinemas 1 and 2 at Vincom City Towers (191 Ba Trieu Street, Hai Ba Trung District).
In November, Megastar, a joint venture between Envoy Media Partners Ltd. of British Virgin Islands and Phuong Nam Cultural Corp., opened two 3D cinemas, one in Hanoi and one in HCMC with an investment of US$300,000.
Thanks to James Cameron’s Avatar, the first 3D film of shown in Vietnam that earned a record US$1.4 million total box office after 12 weeks of screenings nationwide, Megastar made the decision to open more 3D cinemas to meet the high demands and interests of Vietnamese people.
Megastar plans to screen a new 3D title each month for the rest of the year with a hope of drawing big crowds.
Tim Burton’s 3D movie version of English author Lewis Carroll’s 1865 novel Alice in Wonderland will kick off the year 2010 on March 12. Tickets are on sale now.
“3D cinema is a trend that has appeared for so long but it has really affirmed its position only in the past few months. Over 50% of Avatar’s total box office worldwide comes from 3D cinemas,” said Brian Hall, chairman of the Megastar administration board.
According to the website Boxofficemojo.com, as of February 25, Avatar had reached nearly US$2.5 billion, passing history best-ever selling movie Titanic, which brought back US$1.85 billion to director James Cameron, and taking the best-selling movie title of the world.