Five things I learned about watching movies in China:
(Based on our experience at two different theaters)
1. The FILM: It's a good idea to know if the theater you will attend is showing the movie in English and/or if it will have English subtitles? And if there is another language spoken during the movie -- surprise -- you won't understand a thing because the subtitles will most likely be in Chinese during that part. We couldn't read Chinese and we couldn't understand Russian either. Also, your selection of films might be limited because China has a limit of 20 foreign films a year. Although, I recently read that the limit was raised to 34. I sure hope so because that means more selection!
2. The COST: The movie will cost around 100 RMB (that is what it cost us both times we went). Of course, this was for the 3-D version, but it also was the only option in English. One hundred RMB is approximately $15.00. When we arrived, there was a huge crowd and excited chatter. We had a couple of people run up to us and saying something in Chinese, but we could not understand. We were later told that they possibly had some kind of a coupon that could be used as a group. :::sigh::: wish I could speak Chinese already!
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| Concession Stand |
3. The SNACKS: The snacks look like they might be the same, but they are not. Instead of buttered/salted popcorn, you will find warm caramel corn (not gooey). Instead of nachos, or hot dogs, you will find things like dried fruit and nuts. They do still have soda (ice not standard), candy and different flavors of chips -- and I don't mean varied flavors. The snacks are about half the price -- so much less expensive than in the U.S. And I really liked them -- thought it was a nice change. I found the caramel corn to be delicious, and prefer it over the buttered pop corn. The only bad thing is that since the snacks are so inexpensive, I am totally tempted to buy one of everything!
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| Caramel corn, dried banana chips, almonds and a drink. |
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| Greg's not too happy because all the caramel corn is gone. |
4. The ENVIRONMENT: The theaters are very similar to U.S. theaters once inside. Rows of seats, big screen, nice sound system and lovely air conditioning. They have a "lounge" area for people to sit down and have snacks and talk. A rather large one, which is really nice. The lounge is an experience all on its own. At least at this theater -- I cannot vouch for all theaters.
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| Picture of random people sitting near while I try to get a picture of snack stand |
5. The AUDIENCE: There are no short films before the movie, reminding you to turn off your cell phones. But there is intermittent ringing of cell phones throughout the movie. And there are conversations at a volume that indicate that the person talking on the phone has mistaken the movie theater for their own living room at home. Yes it happens during the movie, and no--no one says anything about it. Personally, I was rather amused by it. Maybe it will change or maybe that will be my experience here in China. I did also enjoy the general audience reaction to the events happening in the movie. Much more verbally animated -- very similar to a U.S. audience who attends the movie opening night and are die-hard fans.
All and all, very fun experience and I can't wait to go back again!
