City to have more multiplexes

Cinepax, which previously sponsored movies such as ‘MI-3,’ ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ ‘Miami Vice’ and ‘King Kong’, while announcing the launch of the latest James Bond flick, ‘Casino Royale,’ also announced plans to open a cinema house in the heart of Gulshan-e-Iqbal.

“Negotiations with the city government are going on. We plan to build a multiplex with five or six screens, which will cater to families. Kids could choose to watch animated movies while their parents enjoy their favourites,” said Cinepax Chief Executive Arif Baig.

The company has a target of 120 screens throughout the country, which will begin with the construction of a cineplex in Rawalpindi in March. Baig said that plans to develop cineplexes in Lahore were also on the cards and hoped that the Pakistani movie enthusiasts would return to the big screen.

Cinepax will be showing Casino Royale to the public at the Cineplex and Capri cinemas from December 15, the date for the movie’s countrywide premier.

The new Bond flick features Daniel Craig, who was accused of being a bad replacement for Pierce Brosnan as the tuxedo-clad super spy because of his blondish looks. Proving his critics wrong, however, he reached ultimate stardom with the movie grossing enough to jump to number two in the western box offices.

“We have exclusive movie rights for Pakistan and bring these movies a month after their release in the west. The studios have seen their success rates in the developed regions, which is why they are now focusing on the developing areas of the globe,” said Sanam Hasan, general manager of Box Office, the company that brings the latest Hollywood movies to Pakistan, when asked why US studios were interested in a market they had left during the days of General Ziaul Haq.

To a question regarding the cost of bringing an A-grade movie to Pakistan, Hasan explained that they had arranged for a system of payment with the studios that entitled them to a certain percentage of Box Office’s earnings from showing the movies here, which made it a compatible deal for Pakistan.