Take-5: Cinemas
Summer is here, Hollywood is cranking up the machine and best of all Hong Kong’s movie theatres are serving popcorn! So where do you head for the best movie experience, and why?
Movie theatres have had a tough go of it lately. Between dwindling admissions (though Friday nights still look pretty crammed), streaming competition, gimmick burnout (does anyone really miss 3D?) and then the granddaddy of all disruptions, COVID, Hong Kong’s cinema landscape has taken a beating over the last few years. We lost UA Cinemas, Broadway Circuit is shutting down locations left and right, and management has been a game of musical chairs. That said, Hongkongers love to go to the movies, and the venues that are toughing it out are trying their level best to make the trip worth it for audiences. So to those that have damned the torpedoes and done pricey renovations or dared to open in this climate we say “Bravo!” and break down why you should make an effort to see cinematic work in cinemas: These cinemas.
This list is by no means comphrehensive, and unless we’ve stated otherwise (we haven’t) the price is for one adult ticket on peak Friday/Saturday nights, though those could change on a whim, for special programmes or the dreaded re-emergence of 3D (we’re looking at you, Avatar: The Way of Water).
Golden Scene cinema
| Location: 2 Catchick Street, Kennedy Town |
Price: Up to $100
Golden Scene isn’t the only local distributor to have its own venue but it’s the only one to shirk the mall scene and make the old-fashioned neigbourhood movie house destination A Thing. The Kennedy Town location is dotted with eateries and coffee shops – perfect for post-screening debate – and posters, entrance and box office at street level make spur of the moment “Hey, let’s see this after brunch” A Thing too. The small houses (four) cater to GS’s more art house content, and vegan ice cream, siu mai and beer at the candy bar add to the ’hood vibe, and the popcore is fresh. A drawback? The single side aisle means those seated on the wall side are guaranteed to trip over a lot of feet.
M+ cinema
| Location: M+, West Kowloon
| Price: Up to $85
Okay so the short seatbacks could be more comfortable but no one is going to M+ to zone out watching Tom Cruise run. The appeal of the M+ Cinema is entirely in its programming. Go elsewhere for Disney animation or a Fast & Furious entry. Short, documentary and experimental films about art and artists are the name of the game, along with retrospectives and film complements to the gallery’s collection and special exhibitions, like 1984’s Long Arm of The Law, an adjunct to the “Hong Kong: Here and Beyond” exhibition in the Main Hall Gallery. Screens and sound are both ace, and at a maximun capacity of 180 the houses offers MoMA-style intimate settings for artist engagement.
Emperor cinemas iSquare
| Location: iSquare, TST
| Price: Up to $175
Remember the clusterfuck that was the lobby of iSquare’s cinema when it was a UA (RIP) venue? Navigating it on a Saturday for a popular IMAX film was torture – and on top of if the toilets never flushed right! In a 10-year old theatre (as of COVID)! The hell? Thankfully when Emperor picked up the contract it put in some reno work and voilà. Not only is the lobby something you can move around in, the toilets work all the time, and the women’s restroom on the main level holds more than two people. Yes, two, becuase the old version only had three stalls and one was always ‘Out of Service’. The fancy bar with beer on tap and a few local gins (!) to go with the equally fancy food is still here (Emperor aims for luxe), and iSquare cuts the mustard as Hong Kong’s most accessbile, least frigid, IMAX screen.
Movie Movie
| Location: Cityplaza, Taikoo Shing | Price: Up to $115
A contender for this spot was The Metroplex at KITEC for its strong tech and nap-able seating, but MOViE MOViE won for having both tech and programming. The (yawn) Cityplaza location means pre-/post-movie noshing is easy, and the theatre balances mainstream hits and stuff that vibes with its anchor Life is Art mini-festival and the complementing philosophy of engagement. The MOViE MAXX house’s screen and sound (4K laser projection, Atmos, Barco) were state-of-the-art when the theatre underwent a major renovation back in 2018, and the leg room and wide seats still rule. Tickets for the fancy pants, 14-seat MM Moments run much higher, but if you want butler service and a sense that you’re in a private screening room in your basement, mission accomplished.
Grand Ocean
| Location: Ocean Centre, TST
| Price: Up to $100
One. Golden Harvest’s Grand Ocean has one auditorium. What a glorious thing. To be honest, fifth place was a toss up between this and Broadway Cinematheque, Hong Kong’s OG art house theatre, but the Ocean’s big, wide screen, crystalline sound, ample leg room, airline seats you can rest your head on, and that blocky barrier between sections that feels really… cinema-ish make this a sentimental favourite. Want to see something big and booming but you have no desire/budget to pay IMAX prices? Go to the Grand Ocean. And you can’t beat the food and coffee options in the area pre- and post screening.