​FILMS

thailand cinemas

Seeing movies in Thailand: 85 out of 100: I have been asked a few times over the years about what it's like to see a movie at the cinema in Thailand. One thing's for sure. It's much cheaper than it is in Australia. The Aussie dollar goes a long way in Thailand. There are multiplexes everywhere in Bangkok screening Thai films, English language films and foreign language films. On many occasions, I am able to see the latest films before they are released in Australia, hence the illegal downloading problem in Australia.

When you buy your ticket at the counter, they have a much better system than they have in Australia in that you are able to see where the available seats are, unlike Australia where you have to say where you want to sit and the seat you end up with might not be the one you want. The seats are designed well with many cinemas having the seating rock back a little to make it more comfortable.

All the ads are in Thai to cater for the Thai population. The movie trailers are played on high rotation so if you see many movies over a couple of weeks, you'll end up seeing the same ones. That's fine by me as I either use the Internet or have a catnap. The pre-feature 'entertainment' usually goes for around 25 minutes, which is about 5-10 minutes longer than in Australia.

Just before the movie starts, everyone must stand to pay their respects to the King. The anthem is stirring and heartfelt, much more passionate and emotional than the Australian national anthem. When the movie does start, you'll have to put up with Thai subtitles but after a couple of minutes, they don't seem to be there if you're engrossed in the film you're watching.

The screen size is decent and the sound quality is fantastic. There's a couple of cinemas on the main tourist strip (Apex Lido and Apex Scala) which are not as good but they charge only 100 baht (about $A3.40) for every session. Thailand's discount day is Wednesday where the 2D ticket prices range from 100-120 baht. Mondays and Tuesdays cost about 170-190 baht while you are charged 190-210 baht from Thursday-Sunday.

If you love your movies as much as I do, you won't miss out on catching the latest releases when you're in Thailand.

 

(Written on Sunday 10th August, 2014)