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| Choi Byung-hwan, CEO of CJ 4DPlex, rides on a 4DX VR, at the CJ 4DPlex Office in Insa-dong, Seoul./ Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
By Kim Ji-soo
For some fans, the summer's hottest films such as the "Pirates of the Caribbean" and "The Battleship Island" were shown in a latest format, the 4DX With Screen X at the CJ Theater in Yongsan, Seoul.
Korean company CJ 4DPlex,which brought the thrill of motion chairs to theaters, hopes Screen X will be one more reason people will want to go to theaters to watch a movie.
" As you know, Screen X provides a visual immersion experience, a kind of virtual reality effect without using VR gear, compared to 4DX, which is about watching movies through a five-senses experience," said Choi Byung-hwan, CEO of CJ 4DPlex, in an interview with The Korea Times.
"So far user feedback is that Screen X effects may work effectively for the Korean horror movie 'Mimic,' which premieres on Aug. 17," Choi also said. "And the internal joke is that we will place an ambulance nearby for this horror-thriller film."
Screen X is one of the company's latest innovative attempts to enhance the movie-watching experience in theaters, giving the company an edge in the saturated movie industry, challenged by home theaters, as they offer rare theater formats such as 4DX.
CJ 4DPlex is an affiliate of CJ CGV, Korea's biggest movie theater chain. In 2009, it started to materialize bringing the concept of amusement park rides to theaters. The engine behind the ambitious plan was 4DX, which provides a five senses film-watching experience with effects such as motion, water, wind, bubbles and scents, a concept that CJ Group Chairman Lee Jay-hyun got from theme rides in places such as Universal Studios.
More than five years later, CJ 4DPlex has expanded to 395 theaters in 49 countries, with more than 48,000 seats as of Aug. 1, 2017.
"Moviegoers from all countries love the motion chair. Now 4DX has more than 20 effects, in addition to motion, wind, water, bubbles and scents," Choi said. The customer response to these effects differ according to demographic and location; for instance, moviegoers in Korea, especially female film aficionados, do not like the effects too much, while those in Japan and Mexico ask for more water, Choi said.
Back in 2014, when this reporter first met Choi at a cultural event, CJ 4DPlex seemed ambitious, especially for those used to old-school theaters with their popcorn — and grilled squid in Korean theaters especially. But the company, by constantly incorporating customer feedback, reducing costs and providing management support, persevered. The company was able to reduce the cost by acquiring motion-chair manufacturer SimuLine in 2013.
CJ 4DPlex's success in Japan in 2013 significantly helped boost the number of 4DX theaters worldwide. When the company launched 4DX at the Corona Theater in 2013, the Nikkei newspaper declared it a hit. The mix of Hollywood blockbusters and Japanese animation films drove the ticket sales in Japan, the company said. As a result, 25 4DX theaters opened in Japan in 2015, and that number now stands at 52. Japan is behind only China, which has 131 4DX theaters. Korea has 31 4DX theaters, one of which has both 4DX and ScreenX.
"We achieved the break-even point last year," Choi said, beaming. "I mean, we still have a long way to go, but we worked until sweat broke out from under our feet," he said.
Choi said the small successes that the company began tasting after 2013 and 2014, and the successive endorsements from movie industry legends, including producer Jerry Bruckheimer, of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, drive the company and its employees.
Asked if the company is also driven by the Korean-style "headlong" push, Choi shook his head.
"Of course the fourth dimension was started two to three decades ago by Universal Studios. But we took charge of aligning the technology to movies, such as choosing which film and scenes to format, persuading studios to provide their films, then selling the 4DX-formated films to theaters, and setting up this movie ecosystem that works," Choi said.
He said that now executives at major film studios such as Fox and Universal all welcome him, in contrast to CJ 4DPlex's initial years.
Selecting which movies to reformat? Wouldn't that be the perfect job for people who love movies?
"Well, if anything becomes a job ... I guess it would be a great job," Choi said, chuckling.
Asked if Netflix poses a challenge to his company and the larger film industry, Choi paused for a moment before saying, "It's a challenge but also an opportunity."
Choi, a computer engineer by training, worked in Korean telecommunications firms for a long time before joining 4DPlex.
But with the younger generation getting more exposure to the "attraction" experience in the movie industry, will the future of theater or people's memories of theaters change?
"I forecast millennials may be more receptive to virtual reality, augmented reality technologies in their movies," Choi said.
"But we are looking to create a lifestyle in which you go to a theater and the movie is one of the experiences there," he said.
In the global 4DX market, CJ 4DPlex competes with U.S. company Mediamation and Chinese firms.
"We hope to lead in the premium format market in the next five years or so," Choi said.
