Blitz Megaplex: Jakarta, West Java
I used to really enjoy going to the cinema complexes in Yogyakarta. They were in some ways an adventure. Musty, large rooms full of restless people, some trying to have a cigarette in secret but pillars of smoke were their giveaway, lovers becoming entwined in their passion for each other, and the rats!. You had to put your feet up on the seat in front of you much to the annoyance of your fellow patron, who, by the way, was doing the same bloody thing.
I once left my backpack on the floor. Later, when the film had finished and the lovers exposed in all manner of undress and the smokers spotlighted and coughing, I picked up my pack only to notice a rather large hole in the bottom. “Don’t worry darling” my wife Candika said nonchalantly, “It’s only rats”.
It wasn’t long before the cinema on Jalan Mangkubumi caught fire and the refuge for lovers was a pile of mere ash. So it was to Jalan Solo and the cinema complex there. But for some obscure reason it suffered the same fate!. These cinemas in their days were dusty old buildings and not like the ones now in Jakarta – the Blitz Megaplex. Prodita Sabarini explains more:
The Blitz Megaplex on the eighth floor of Grand Indonesia in the heart of Jakarta is a spacious and modern cinema complex that has the potential to redefine what it means to go the cinema.
“It doesn’t look like a movie theater, it looks like an airport lounge,” a women said as she stepped off the escalator into the newest cinema complex in town.
Indeed, the tag line of Blitz Megaplex, ‘Beyond Movies,’ speaks for itself.
The one-stop entertainment complex includes a cafe, live music stage, smoking lounges, waiting rooms, a digital music station, free wi-fi connections and a 3,200-seat state-of-the-art cinema.
With cheap pirated DVDs and VCDs readily available and the option of movie rentals, the popularity of watching films at the cinema has declined in recent years. People have been less willing to spend between Rp 25,000 and Rp 100,000 to watch a film at the cinema.
“I prefer to watch dramas, romantic comedies and the like at home,” Paskala, 22, a first-time visitor to Blitz said.
However, Paskala enjoyed the fact that he could do his work on his laptop over a coffee at Blitz.
“I’ll come here even though I won’t be watching movies,” he said.
Many cinemas in the city have been forced to close down in recent years due to a lack of patronage. The most recent victim in Jakarta was the famous Megaria Theater, in Cikini, Central Jakarta.
Yet, the creator of Blitz seems to have achieved a perfect balance that will once again attract the masses to the cinema.
Cinema patrons even have the option of purchasing a ticket in the VIP lounge, where they can enjoy a variety beverages while watching their selected film.
“Visitors with VIP tickets sit on the balcony level while watching the movie in the auditorium,” said Blitz marketing director Wendy Soeweno.
VIP tickets are twice the price of regular ticket prices of Rp 40,000 on weekends, Rp 30,000 on weekdays and Rp 25,000 on Mondays.
A similar concept was introduced late last year in Bandung, West Java, where a 2,300-seat cinema succeeded in conquering 52 percent of the market.
Wendy said that no targets had been set yet for the cinema aside from the fact that there are plans to have a total of five similar complexes in Jakarta and Bandung by 2008.
“Jakarta has a large population, so there is great potential to attract moviegoers,” she said.
But it was not the new one-stop entertainment concept that attracted movie-buff Adji Soedibjo to Blitz for the third time.
“I don’t really think about such things. I’ve been to every movie theater in Jakarta, including the one infested with fleas,” he said. “I like the large screen here in the large auditorium and the splendid sound system. It’s an incredible experience.”
Prodita Sabarini