Coming up: “Cinema of the future”

Although it still looks like a construction site, next month the curtain will rise on what Cineplex calls the “cinema of the future”.

The Junxion — the first of its kind in Canada — combines aspects of the chain’s various locations, from the VIP theater at the south end to The Rec Room and St. Vital’s cinema.

The Kildonan Place complex will feature six auditoriums, a dining room, arcade games, virtual reality offerings and a live events area.

“It’s really about being on the go, getting out of the house and being with other people,” said Judy Lung, Cineplex’s director of communications.

“Whether you’re family or a group of friends, it’s like, maybe you want to watch a movie, maybe you want to play some games,” she said.

On Tuesday, visitors to the 35,000-square-foot site wore hard hats instead of 3D glasses during a preview. The six auditoriums were devoid of movie screens and their combined 672 black Palliser lounge chairs.

A construction worker swept the floor of the future 4,400-square-foot gaming corner — according to Cineplex’s Kevin Matthews, there will be more than 50 games, like what you’d see at The Rec Room in Tuxedo.

“It’s really… about giving our guests that out-of-home experience,” said the executive director of operations for Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

“You can have the biggest TV and the biggest, latest technology in terms of sound… but it never will be.”–Judy Lung, Cineplex communications director

There are two virtual reality games (Motorcycle Racing and Hungry Hippos), an “Experience Hub” near the main entrance — think live music and magicians on stage, customers seated on stands, in a 1,100-square-foot space Range – and Food Choices Go beyond the classic popcorn and soda.

“My favorite… (is) Philly cheesesteak poutine,” Matthews said. “The offers are … I think enough to draw people in for that alone.”

The chefs create burgers, sandwiches and pizza. Beer and wine are on the menu; People can drink in the auditoriums or at tables in the lobby. A separate concession stand hands out typical theater fare.

Sometime after the opening, moviegoers can order food to their seats, like the VIP experience at Cineplex Odeon McGillivray, Lung said. An app for ordering is currently in the works.

Junxion’s largest auditorium – 220 seats – will have an UltraAVX screen like St. Vital’s. Twenty of the seats are motion-activated and synced to movie scenes (the devices are called D-BOX).

“We’re going to finish first,” Matthews said. “It’s really exciting.”

Junxion is a pre-pandemic idea. In 2019, Cineplex announced one would be opening at the Erin Mills Town Center in Mississauga, Ontario. in 2020. The Canadian company was already facing competition from streaming services like Netflix and Crave.

Then COVID-19 struck. Cinemas closed and new films premiered on streaming platforms. Work at the Mississauga site has ceased. It was recently reinstated and is scheduled to open next year. Cineplex reported a net loss of $230.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2020.

Despite the pandemic punch, cinemas will prevail, Lung said.

Cineplex last quarter announced its best quarter in more than two years — a net income of $1.3 million compared to a net loss of $103.7 million for the same period in 2021.

“You can have the biggest TV and the biggest, latest technology in terms of sound…but it never will be,” Lung said, gesturing around the medium-sized Auditorium 6 at a group of people enjoying something together.”

The new entertainment complex replaces the decades-old Famous Players Kildonan Place Cinemas. Cineplex wanted to remodel the space; Instead, creating a Junxion seemed like the right move, according to Matthews.

More junctions are in the works, Lung added.

“I don’t think we would envision a future where (all the new locations) are Junxions,” she said. “There are many people with different preferences and habits.”

“The atmosphere, the ambiance. You hear the ‘ahhs’ and ‘oohs’, the (people’s) reactions to the film…if you hear them all together, I like that.”–Paulette Edwards, future patron

Meanwhile, enthusiasm for Winnipeg’s new theater seems to be growing, she said. Cineplex held a job fair last weekend – nearly 1,000 people applied.

“It was wild,” said Amanda Lau, CEO of Cineplex Junxion.

You and three other managers have to sort through the CVs and hire 60 employees. Twenty more come from Famous Players Kildonan.

Successful candidates will receive job offers later this week, Matthews said.

Paulette Edwards’ children are “anxiously awaiting” the opening of the new space.

Edwards shopped at Save-On-Foods in Kildonan Place on Tuesday. She will be going to the movies with her 13 and 19 year olds – it’s a family outing, she said.

“The atmosphere, the ambiance. You hear the ahhs and the oohs, the reactions[of people]to the film,” Edwards said. “I like it when you hear them all together.”

Gord Fargey, another grocery shopper, said he wouldn’t visit Cineplex Junxion — there’s sports on TV.

Nonetheless, he wished her well.

“Everybody’s going out of business with this COVID thing,” Fargey said. “I hope everything will be fine.”

There’s no date set for Cineplex Junxion to open yet, although planners are eyeing early to mid-November.

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Gabrielle Piche
reporter

Gabby is a big fan of people, writing and learning. In Spring 2020, she graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program.

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