Cinestar Cinemas gets a new look and a new name

Majid Al Futtaim Ventures, a subsidiary of MAF Holding, has given its chain of Cinestar Cinemas a new name - VOX Cinemas - and is in the process of upgrading its theatres with new seating, ticketing, dining, and big screen options.

The company owns five theatres and 50 screens in the UAE at locations including the Mall of the Emirates and Abu Dhabi's Marina Mall. The rebranding and upgrades are being rolled out as the company prepares to launch new cinemas across the Middle East.

"The rebrand was designed to modernise our brand and to link the brand,' said Cameron Mitchell, CEO of VOX Cinemas. "We had new brands released every two or three years but they didn't link back to the main brand, so we wanted brands that were more modern and that we could take into new territories."

The company will be opening its first cinema outside the UAE in Beirut next year, and is also reviewing opportunities in Oman, Egypt, Bahrain, Qatar, and Syria, he said. "We expect to be in 10 sites in at least four countries across the region in the next four to five years, with our number of screens doubling to over 100," he told AMEInfo.com.

New product offerings

Customers who visit the revamped VOX Cinemas in the UAE will be treated to an enhanced product that will include the new VOX GOLD brand, which offers fully-reclining arm chairs, a comprehensive cafe style menu, and table service within the cinemas. VOX Cinemas will be the first cinema company in the region to offer 3D movies in this premium cinema environment.

VOX Cinemas also now feature new 4K digital projection systems, which provide four times the number of pixels and resolution than any other digital cinema in the region, the company said.

The company is also offering additional ticketing options including online ticketing through their website, an iPhone ticketing application, a mobile website, and kiosk and onsite sales.

"We have refined every aspect of the cinema-going experience to make it more engaging, fun and hassle-free," Mitchell said.

VOX Cinemas is also adapting itself to an increasingly important trend in which theatres are evolving from places where people simply watch movies, Mitchell noted. Last year the company showed live World Cup matches in its theatres, and it has plans to offer concerts and other live entertainment in the future.

The company also is keen to launch gaming in its cinemas in an environment that will allow patrons to compete on the big screen against each other or against players in other theatres, he noted. "What we're offering is not only a cinema environment, it's an entertainment environment, and with the involvement of digital projectors we can offer all those different alternatives as well as films," he said.