Buzz @ BIG Cinemas- Caring for all

Paa Premiere in BIG Cinemas

The premiere event of Paa on 3rd December, in 5 screens at IMAX BIG Cinemas, Wadala was undoubtedly one of the biggest Bollywood premieres of the year. With the entire Bachchan family playing the perfect host, the entire who’s who of the film industry was present. Actors, directors, composers were all queued up to meet Mr Bachchan and Paa actress Vidya Balan.

The celebrities who attended the event included Shahrukh Khan with his family, Aamir Khan with Raju Hirani and Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anil Ambani and his wife Tina. The Samajwadi Party General Secretary and the Bachchans’ family friend Amar Singh was also present. Akshay Kumar came in with wife Twinkle, Hema Malini was there along with her daughters, so was Ranbir Kapoor, Imran Khan, Juhi Chawla, Arshad Warsi, Sonali Bendre and Goldie Behl, Kajol and Ajay Devgn. Govinda was there and so was the entire 3 Idiots team, including Madhavan.

Many actors of the yesteryears like Jeetendra, Randhir Kapoor and directors like Yash Chopra, Karan Johar, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Abbas-Mustan, Vishal Bhardwaj and Ram Gopal Verma also attended this magnanimous occasion.

Even the top guns from ad world attended the do to support their friend Balki. Prasoon Joshi was there, as was Rakesysh OmPrakash Mehra among others.

In the film, Amitabh Bachchan, 67, plays a 13-year-old boy suffering from progeria, a rare condition that causes premature ageing among children. The film is directed by R Balakrishnan. Abhishek plays Amitabh's father in the film, while Vidya Balan essays the role of his mother.

BIG Cinemas R City Launched in Mumbai

On 18th September, BIG Cinemas opened Mumbai’s first megaplex with 9 movie screens at R City Mall in Ghatkopar, whilst introducing the innovative concepts of ‘Cinediner’ and ‘Mischief’.

The Cinema was opened to the public on 15th September with Director's special festival that gave the audiences a chance to come and see the movies which not only have they loved over the years but are also the favourites of the Directors who made them. There was further euphoria around this activity as the directors had personally come to interact with the audiences and answer their questions. Farhan Akhtar, Imtiaz Ali, Mahesh Bhatt, Kunal Kohli, Ram Gopal Varma and Ashutosh Gowariker visited BIG Cinemas at R City during the course of the 3 days when the Directors Special activity was conducted. There was phenomenal audience response and the Director's loved the Cinema.

Snippets of what some of the Director's said about this new BIG Cinemas

Pride of India, A Dream come true for Indian Cinema - Mahesh Bhatt
Simply out of this cinematic world! Cine Diner is a 'homely' concept! I can only say bring your home to the cinemas! To BIG Cinemas - Ashutosh Gowariker
I hated it as a Film Maker because if you make cinemas this luxurious people will just enjoy the food and go to sleep here - Ram Gopal Varma
Came to watch a film in a theatre, lived a life style and had an unbelievable cinematic experience - Mohit Suri

Also attached are the captured moments which show how much all the Director's loved the new BIG Cinemas.

The launch day saw gala fan fare with the crew of Dil Bole Hadippa- Rani Mukherjee, Shahid Kapoor and Yash Chopra gracing the opening. Rani and Shahid not only danced to the tunes of Bhangra but also interacted with audiences watching the film.

BIG Cinemas Odeon launched in Delhi

Romance; Drama; Comedy; Action get a new luxurious destination in Delhi with the reopening of Connaught Place’s landmark Odeon theatre as Odeon BIG Cinemas. The launch event was attended by the starcast of ‘Life Partner’. Genelia D’Souza, Prachi Desai and Tushhar Kapoor visited the property and interacted with media and patrons.

Odeon BIG Cinemas now houses 2 luxurious screening rooms with a seating capacity for 592 people, offering moviegoers the finest customer amenities and a dynamic screen presentation, along with a greater choice of films and viewing times. The auditoriums are furnished with wall-to-wall screens, stadium-style seating in plush, high-backed sofas and Dolby sound systems. Odeon BIG Cinemas has been redesigned around the concept where every guest is the ‘star of the show’ and their experience needs to be fulsome through both ambience and offerings.

Harry Potter Premiere @ BIG Cinemas

The latest IMAX 3D theatre at BIG Cinemas, Wadala was launched in July 15, 2009 with the world premiere of one of the most awaited potter series film – Harry Potter and the half blood prince. The movie premiered with 3 special shows, 2 in IMAX 3D format and 1 in a normal digital format. The event was promoted extensively through Newspaper Ads, Flyers, Standees, Box Office posters & E-Mailers.

IMAX BIG cinema had a complete Harry Potter ambience as the stage set was of the Hogwarts Castle in the lobby. Cutouts of Harry Potter 6 characters were placed for people to get their photos clicked also Promoters wearing 8 character costumes from HP6 greeted the guests as they entered the cinema. A red carpet pathway was created with standees and house flags of Harry Potter 6 in either side. Special gobo lights was placed that projected HP6, IMAX & BIG Cinemas logo on the wall inside the cinema as well as on the dome structure outside the cinema. Show lights were placed on either side of the entrance. The guests who poured in with great excitement and enthusiasm included Sohail Khan with his kids and nephews, R Madhvan with his wife and kid, Divya Dutta, Vinay Pathak, Aditya Hitkari, Divya Palat, Shivani Kashyap and the list continues. The media was jointly invited by BIG Cinemas & Warner Bros. The entire invited guest had a wonderful movie watching experience at the IMAX 3D where they not only enjoyed the visual treat of special 3D effects but also scrumptious gourmet meal. Now that’s what makes it a complete BIG cinema experience.

Meet the stars of New York Promotion @ BIG Cinemas

Meet the stars of NEW YORK promotion was conducted across 7 cinemas in Mumbai and 2 cinemas in Pune. The promotion aimed at driving people to watch NEW YORK at BIG Cinemas, fill a contest from and get a chance to meet the stars. The promotion was started on 1st July 2009 and was concluded on 4th July 2009. The event was held at BIG Cinemas, Wadala on 4th July 2009. 15 lucky contest winners got a chance to meet John Abraham, Katrina Kaif, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Kabir Khan (The Director of NEW YORK) followed by a press conference. The promotion was communicated through News Paper Ads, Flyers, Standees, Box Office posters & E-Mailers. The footfalls for the movie increased considerably in the 2nd week of release with the help of this promotion.

SCRAT’s Visit @ BIG Cinemas

Ice Age 3 promotion at BIG Cinemas was carried out in Mumbai on 3rd & 4th July 2009. BIG Cinemas got exclusive rights to “Scrat” (most loved character from Ice Age) costume from Foxstar Studios. A promoter wearing Scrat’s costume visited 6 BIG Cinemas locations in Mumbai. The schedule of Scrat’s visit was communicated through Newspaper Ads, Flyers, Standees and Box Office posters. This generated a lot of excitement among the kids and helped us increase footfalls in the 2nd week of release. Many kids with their parents had come to BIG Cinemas specially to meet Scrat. The event started on 3rd July 2009 at BIG Cinemas, Kharghar and after traveling to all BIG Cinemas in Mumbai, it ended on 4th July 2009 at BIG Cinemas Huma. The promotion was highly appreciated by the all guests visiting the Cinemas and Kids, who went nuts over Scrat.

Ghajini mania at BIG Cinemas

BIG cinemas known for pioneering with innovative thoughts across entire vistas in films, has stunned everyone with their ventre of promoting Aamir Khan’s Ghajini that released on 25th December.

The film had been hitting headlines across far flung corners the globe over for a long time. So what’s catchy with Ghajini? For sure it’s the exotic half shaven hair style of Aamir and BIG Cinemas picked it up for the promos….over 100 associates of BIG Cinemas shaved off their heads, to sport the trendy Aamir’s look in the film! Their new look was exclusively unveiled by the superstar himself at a special photo opportunity for the media at BIG Cinemas, Wadala.

BIG Cinemas associates volunteered to sport the Aamir Khan look and pose for the special photo opportunity, with the process beginning on 9th December 2008.

BIG Cinemas also conducted a meet and greet Aamir contest with the release of Ghajini. At the end of the contest, 15 lucky winners got a chance to meet their favourite superstar on the sets of his upcoming movie “3 Idiots”. Aamir also invited the winners to watch a part of the shooting of this movie.

Watch 99 – Win 99

To generate customer delight, BIG Cinemas ran a month-long promotion with the fun filled flick “99” starting on 15th May 2009. This pan India promotion gave all guests visiting BIG Cinemas to watch the movie ‘99’ a chance to participate in a contest and win 99 free movie tickets to its cinemas for the entire year.

The response to this exclusive promotional activity brought in increased footfalls & improved customer experience during the lean period of the multiplex strike.

The winners of this contest will be announced shortly.

Luck By Chance

BIG Cinemas gave its patrons a chance to ‘Get Lucky at BIG Cinemas’ in a month long campaign run across its properties to promote the movie ‘Luck By Chance’.

Guests were given a scratch card on each transaction at the box office and they could win prizes ranging from free movie tickets, discounts on FnB Combos, BIG Flix subscription vouchers to the bumper prize – a brand new Maruti A Star.

The Maruti A Star car was won by Mr. Vijay Joshi at Big Cinemas, Mulund.
20 lucky winners also got the chance to meet Farhan Akhtar at a special event held at Big Cinemas, Wadala on 18th March 2009. Farhan also handed over the Maruti car to the winner during this event.

La Cenerentola

BIG Cinemas continued its pioneering efforts to revolutionize the entertainment landscape in the country by screening the first ever Opera in India.

Rossini’s masterpiece “La Cenerentola”, based on the classic story of Cinderella & performed by the internationally renowned Glyndebourne Festival, was screened in the plush environs of BIG Cinemas in Mumbai, Pune, Ahmedabad and Delhi between 19th and 21st June.

The screening was supported by Reliance Mobile & the NCPA and was attended by music enthusiasts in the different cities.

The heartening response received by this screening is expected to open up the avenues for newer content to be played on cinema screens and entertain a newer & broader audience in the coming months.

ICC T20 - Scratch-n-Win

BIG Cinemas brought the thrill of the ICC World Twenty 20 to its guests through an exciting promotion run across 55 properties pan India.

Guests got a scratch card on the purchase of a special T20 combo and had a chance to win assured gifts like free Pepsi, pen drives, Pepsi glasses and the bumper prize, an all-expense trip to London to watch the T-20 World Cup.

4 lucky winners were selected from the cinemas in Mumbai, Ahemdabad, Gurgaon and Delhi.

This 2 month exclusive promotional activity which ended on the 22nd June 2009 was a huge success and succeeded in bringing the excitement & the euphoria of the game home to its guests.