RAWALPINDI, Oct 11: In a welcome move, the country’s first five-screen multiplex cinema was launched in Jinnah Park Rawalpindi on Thursday.

The cinema complex known as Cinepax would be formally opened to the public on the first day of Eidul Fitr, said Arif Baigmohammed, chief executive officer Cinepax, at a press conference.

He said designed by Canadian architects in accordance with international standards, the theatre complex could be compared to the best in the world with perfect seating arrangements for men, women and children.

The entry fee of the cinema has been fixed at Rs200 while tickets can be booked through the internet, telephone and even by SMS. The cinema house would also screen Hollywood films within a month after their international release besides screening the best of international and Pakistani cinemas.

Cinepax complexes are also expected to come up soon in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Multan and Hyderabad with the development of 120 screens in the initial five years at a total cost of $30 million.

The residents of Rawalpindi are quite lucky for having the five-screen cinema house completed at the first phase of the project.

The cinema complex would screen premium contents in a family- friendly environment having world class seating arrangements and airconditioned halls that would be open from 12 noon to 12 midnight.

He said the five-screen cinema complex would show English, Urdu and Punjabi films besides cartoons.

The new complex, which has been designed to meet the discerning taste of movie-goers, is a multiplex experience that is expected to change the way people go to watch movies particularly for families who would like to have an evening of pure entertainment in a clean and plush environment.

Dany Sidhwa, chief operating officer, said the worldwide metric for estimating a market need was an average population of 54,000 people per screen, whereas given the dilapidated and disappearing state of most of the cinemas across Pakistan it was far higher with 285,000 people per screen.

He said with the establishment of five-screen cinema complexes in various cities, the film industry would be restored to its original glory.