CEBU, Philippines - With the Christmas holiday and blockbuster seasons ahead of us, expect long queues at your favorite cinemas as movie buffs want to be right there on opening day and get the best seats in the house. This time, there’s no need to suffer through snaking lines since SM Cinema is finally giving us an option to reserve and buy tickets with just a click of the mouse.
SM Cinema held the launch of its new website last Nov. 18 at the SM City Cebu Northwing Atrium, where a demonstration was shown on how to purchase tickets from the comfort of one’s home, office or anywhere you might have online access.
The event coincided with the opening of the first part of the two-film “Harry Potter” finale, so young fans of the widely-popular movie franchise trooped to the venue in their bespectacled wizard boy costumes. Free passes were also given out to all guests and more to those who could answer trivia questions about the SM Cinema website which is www.smcinema.com.
“The SM Cinema website has been there for a while, it’s just that it’s only now that people can reserve and buy their tickets online. Before it was primarily to check out what movies were showing and future schedules. Now, it’s more powerful and convenient for people because they need not fall in line. Thus, our tagline ‘No more lines, go online.’ You can reserve your ticket online, pay for it using a credit card or Globe Gcash, then you’ll receive a text message which is called the BCode, scan it on the BCode machine, and that’s it, you can enter the cinema,” said Allan Florendo, SM Cinema’s head of Sales and Marketing.
Once you’ve purchased your tickets, you will be given a choice of either receiving an SMS eTicket or printing the e-mail verification. When you get to the cinema lobby, scan the eTicket on your mobile phone or your printed copy on the red light of the BCode scanning terminal and your movie ticket will print instantly. You may now go straight to the theater where your movie is showing. Florendo assured that the white BCode machines will recognize all mobile phones from any manufacturer.
The new SM Cinema website sports a fresher lay-out and is now more user-friendly. It has everything one needs to know about a movie including its synopsis, trailers, and schedules. If you’re not familiar with a particular SM Cinema branch, the website also features Google maps to help you find your way.
But what if a sudden emergency comes up and you can’t make it to the movie screening on time or can’t watch it altogether? You may pass the eTicket to your friends or relatives by forwarding the text message to them, so that they may claim and use the tickets in your place. With this option, you can surprise someone with a movie treat by purchasing the ticket for them online, and then just forward the BCode text to their mobile phones. If you’re in Cebu, and you want to reserve for someone in Manila, you can also do so.
While attendees registered and browsed through www. smcinema.com using computers provided at the venue, “Party Pilipinas” singer Miguel Escueta and acoustic artist Sabrina entertained the crowd with their music that evening.