Moviegoers walk past an advertisement for the film Avatar at a cinema in Beijing. [Photo / Bloomberg]
BEIJING - Forget 3D and don't even mention 4D. The latest buzz among entertainment seekers is 5D.
That's what Sun Jianjun, president of C&C Entertainment International Co Ltd, has been working on for more than three years.
"5D refers to a form of show that incorporates elements of the Las Vegas O show and the traditional 4D elements, including seat vibration, water spray, smell and smog," Sun said.
The "O" indicates a water-themed performance, being pronounced the same way as the French word eau, which means water. The Las Vegas O show takes place in, around and above a 5.7 million liter pool of water and features water acts such as synchronized swimming as well as aerial and ground performances.
"The 5D show is a great integrative innovation because it involves both technology and content being brought together to demonstrate different aspects of Beijing and its history to audiences," Sun said.
The entertainment pioneer said that the enterprise will be located in the Tongzhou district, Beijing, and construction work on the project will start on Oct 1 if everything goes well.
He added that he wanted to stun audiences with his show, which has attracted investment of 10 billion yuan ($1.52 billion). Work is scheduled to take about two years to complete.
In addition to the 5D show, a large-scale movie theater with 36 screens is also included in the project, which is a joint enterprise with China Film Group.
Sun said there would be both 3D and 4D screens as well as more innovative and sophisticated viewer experiences.
"We put a great emphasis on the internal practical functions of the cinema instead of its luxury surface. This one is set to be the largest cinema complex in the world once it's completed." The current largest cinema in the world is Moore Theater in Seattle, in the US state of Washington, with 30 screens.
Total investment in the movie theater is still being calculated by a US company, but Sun said it's estimated to be 500 to 600 million yuan.
Statistics from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television showed that China's film industry grossed 10.17 billion yuan in box office receipts on the Chinese mainland in 2010. That represents year-on-year growth of 63.9 percent.
The burgeoning movie industry in China has boosted the construction of cinemas in recent years.
The 36-screen movie theater is likely to be the most expensive and will offer the most viewing experiences to audiences.
The number of 3D screens in China increased from 700 in 2009 to 2,020 last year, a year-on-year growth rate of 189 percent, according to EntGroup International Consulting (Beijing) Co Ltd, one of China's leading research and consulting companies specializing in the entertainment industry.
However, the boom in 3D movies heralded by the 2009 blockbuster Avatar may not last, warn some.
"Our revenue surged with Avatar in the first half of last year, but the situation in the second half was a lot worse," said Liu Hui, vice-general manager of Beijing-based Huaxing movie theater, one branch of the UME International Cineplex. That was because most 3D movies released after June were animation movies, including Toy Story 3 and Shrek Forever After, she added.
"After Avatar, 3D movies were not that favored by Chinese audiences because many 'fake' 3D films were released last year," said Gao Jun, vice-general manager of New Film Association, one of China's largest film distributors and theater chains.
Gao said the so-called fake 3D films referred to those shot in 2D format but later made into a 3D format with computer-generated postproduction work. Examples include Alice in Wonderland and Don Quixote.
Some viewers even complained wearing 3D glasses made no difference while watching Don Quixote, he added.
Don Quixote, which cost 70 million yuan to make, grossed just 35.5 million yuan in box office earnings finally, causing big losses for investors.
Gao said that box office receipts for 3D films largely depend on their quality, both from the perspective of technology and content.
Sun said one in three films shown at the new complex will be imported from abroad and the rest will be domestic.
