At D-BOX, we’re aware that our best ambassadors are our loyal partners and their audiences, so when we wanted to know more about the impacts of the D-BOX experience— we went straight to the source and spoke to our partner, Cinemark.
What did we find out?
We discovered that not only do audiences love the experience and do exhibitors see a high return on their investment, but that even cinema managers love the experience as well!
We reached out to Tanya Fenner, manager at Cinemark Carefree Circle and IMAX in Colorado Springs, Colorado to hear more about how the D-BOX experience is perceived in her theater.
With a passion for cinema, Tanya started working in theaters 21 years ago and eventually became manager of the Cinemark location in Colorado Springs last year. With more than 20 years’ experience, she manages a cinema outfitted with 54 D-BOX recliner seats on two screens.
With D-BOX having made its grand entrance in Colorado Springs close to five years ago, Fenner gave us some insight on what she’s learned about the D-BOX experience since its’ debut.
When D-BOX first arrives in a new exhibitor, it’s not only the moviegoers who are excited to see what the experience is all about! As Fenner explained, it’s one thing to hear that you’re getting moving seats, but another altogether to understand the complexity of the movement.
“I was excited that we were getting moving chairs,” she said. “I was intrigued how the seats would work and how much we would be able to feel the seats move with the movie.”
D-BOX is known for having the most realistic and immersive cinema experience on the market today, and this is because of the magnitude of the work that’s behind the haptic feedback audiences experience in their seats.
As mentioned before, D-BOX uses a unique combination of movements, vibrations and textures to deliver sensations to moviegoers. However, the experience goes much deeper than that!
All D-BOX coded movies start with haptic designers who listen to the movie’s audio track, which they utilize to fully synchronize the movement to the action on-screen. Audiences feel what they’re seeing in real-time, helping to fully immerse them in the film in a way that simply watching a movie can’t re-create!
The haptic designers also ensure that the intensity is just right for each specific moment. The goal is not to shake audiences around, but rather to deliver subtle cues for them to accurately follow along with the characters in the movie.
Making sure that the movement is in perfect synchronization to the action and that there’s the perfect amount of intensity is what comes together to create Fenner’s favorite aspect of the D-BOX experience: it realistically provides the action experience of the movie, whether it be a heavy film like F9 or a more silent one like A Quiet Place!
According to Fenner, a lot of the customer feedback she receives is positive, demonstrating that all kinds of people benefit from the premium, more immersive cinematographic experience. Some fans report enjoying the intensity of action-packed films while others love the subtlety and accuracy coded in more quiet titles.
Fenner even gets feedback about horror movies, too!
“When people are watching a scary movie, it gives them a jump when something happens,” she explained. “IT was a great scary movie to have [in D-BOX]!”
As a matter of fact, IT actually makes Fenner’s list of must-see D-BOX movies—right up there with Godzilla vs. Kong and Bumblebee.
Providing audiences with the premium D-BOX experience is proven to be worth the the $8 upcharge for moviegoers. According to Fenner, D-BOX brings her cinema added value because no one else has the same experience in town, making it an extra unique experience that only they can provide!
Describing the experience as “intense” and “fun”, Fenner believes that this uniqueness makes it easier to upsell some regular customers into D-BOX.
“Some hear how you get to feel the action of the movie, and they will buy the tickets,” she explained.
While D-BOX builds all equipment to last, be robust and to require little to no maintenance, exhibitors don’t have to worry about being left alone should they ever encounter any issues.
When Fenner’s D-BOX system was down, the D-BOX support team was there to help her get her seats up and running again!
“Once, we had all the D-BOX [seats] not work for a day in one auditorium. We contacted D-BOX support so they could look into the problem,” she explained. “And then it was fixed! They sent out an e-mail letting us know about our issues.”
With an exciting slate of upcoming movies, moviegoers around the world will be looking at their options to see their favorites in a new & enhanced way! After a year stuck at home due to the pandemic, audiences are flocking back to theaters for premium theatrical formats.
They’ve proven not only that they’re willing to pay more for the premium experience, but that they’ll keep coming back to it again and again! The D-BOX experience is great for this— it’s truly different for every film, but the level of immersion remains top-notch.
The D-BOX haptic experience is renowned for its accuracy and immersion and is loved by exhibitors, managers and most importantly, moviegoers! Adding D-BOX seats to your theater will help drive audiences to your theater and will help move your business forward.
