In recent years Growball Cinemax in Centrepoint neglected their facilities, equipment and customers. But competitor cinemas have forced Growball to take action.

Dropping the Ball

The start of 2010 was a low for Growball. Customers were complaining, new cinemas were popping up and Kota Kinabalu got its first 3D Cinema, courtesy of GSC.

After a series of particularly bad experiences, SabahBah, and many others, finally had enough and stopped going to Growball. Growball, more than likely, noticed the increase in complaints and the decrease in customers.

Getting Back on the Ball

Fast forward 8 months and we found ourselves back at Growball to watch a movie that only showed there.

Much to our surprise we noticed that Growball had undergone extensive renovations. For one, the stairwell leading up from the 6th to the 8th floor have been carpeted and padded, immediately lending a quality feel to Growball’s foyer.

So far we’ve watch movies in cinemas 5 and 7 and both cinemas are like new (others might also be, but we can’t confirm). The bare cement floors have been carpet, the walls have been neatly padded with acoustic materials, all the seats are newly upholstered, solid and comfortable, and the sound quality has significantly improved.

24 Oct 2010: SabahBah saw Buried in the notorious Cinema 3 and unfortunately no renovations have touched this cinema. Not sure if the sound has been fixed, but it was certainly not 100%, the floors are still bare cement and, because the movie was relatively quiet, the next-door karaoke was annoyingly audible through most of the movie.

Growball’s partial response to their customers have been noted, and in doing a little bit, have probably saved their business from certain demise. Growball can once again offer a wide selection of movies at the most competitive prices in Kota Kinabalu – and in quality in the cinemas that have been renovated.

3D Coming Too

The restaurant/function area opposite the entrance to cinema 8 has closed down and is currently being converted into a 3D cinema. With this edition Growball might actually give GSC a run for their money (assuming all theaters will be renovated).

We won’t be holding our breathe, but will keep a keen eye on Groball Cinemax in Centrepoint.

At the start of the last decade Kota Kinabalu was but a blip on the cinema entertainment map. Back then it featured the already old, but not so dilapidated 3 screens of the Golden Screen Cinema complex in the centre of town.

Today, as we enter the new decade, Kota Kinabalu has cinema screens galore. There’s the Cathay Cineplex in the town centre, Growball in Centrepoint and the newest of them all, the GSC in 1Borneo. Another GSC is taking shape in the freshly completed Suria KK Shopping Centre near Jessleton Point and will be coming online in a month or so.

With all this competition the old city GSC just couldn’t attract enough of a crowd with it’s run-down facilities to sustain it, and were closed down.

The fact that a cinema was closed down at all should really make operators of other cinema’s sit up and take notice. If there were no competition, that old GSC would have been able to do business in perpetuity.

Where’s the Movie Magic?

Growball’s no.8 theatre is arguably the best in Kota Kinabalu. Huge auditorium, big screen, every seat a winner and state-of-the-art sound.

However, the other Growball theatres are old and creaky with equipment that is starting to fail. Their only attraction seems to be the sheer volume of titles to chose from on any given night.

But more and more regularly a reminder to the projectionist (who switches on the film and goes outside) is required to either fine tune the focus, the aspect ratio or the sound.

Last night, during a showing of Tooth Fairy in Growballs theatre 3 it was obvious that a particular sound channel had something wrong with it. The actors’ voices were distant, shallow and tinny. A complaint to the projectionist uncovered an apology, but at the same time was added that it couldn’t be fix as a hardware part was being awaited from Singapore.

After a visit to the supervisor’s office a refund was offered, but some members of the author’s contingent didn’t mind the imperfect sound and so we all suffered the poor quality movie experience together.

It’s strange that, in light of the growing competition, Growball doesn’t mind running poor quality shows. The part responsible for the sound failure was on order and obviously it wasn’t just this one show that suffered as the problem was known and yet they ignored it.

To add insult to injury, the hammering outside on tiles being replaced could be felt though the whole show and heard during the quieter parts. Thumbs down for Growball on this occasion.

5 Senses

The reason people visit cinemas, as opposed to watching DVDs (pirated or otherwise) at home, is to experience a movie rather than just watch it. You smell the popcorn, you feel the vibrations of the sound in your feat, you see the larger-than-life actors on the big screen, and you taste the anticipation of a good thriller on your tongue.

If any of these senses are compromised, punters will first consider alternative cinemas and then wonder why they should pay RM7 per person to watch a movie instead of buying that pirate DVD with 4 movies for RM10.

Can you really afford for your theatres to smell like urine, Cathay, for your visuals and audio to be less than perfect Growball, or to freeze your customers in their seats, GSC?

Isn’t its time that customers get what they pay for and speak with their feet if businesses don’t deliver?

Join the discussion and share a bit about your highs and lows in the cinemas of Kota Kinabalu…

Amidst all the hype about 1Borneo and the spanking new cinemas of Golden Screen Cinemas, you may be forgiven for not realising that Growball Cinemas had an upgrade and they too have a new cinema.

Fun & Games

Fun Square, which is accessible from Centrepoint Shopping Centre’s Palm Square, is a recent addition to the plethora of entertainment options associated with the Groball name.  Spread over two levels, it includes an area with computers for Internet access and LAN games, a huge new arcade with a variety of games and a buffet restaurant and lounge.

The pride and joy of Fun Square however, is Growball’s new additional cinema number 8, which easily takes the crown as Kota Kinabalu’s top theater hall.  But let’s start on the outside.

As you walk up the stairs from Palm Square, you are greeted by the vibrant and colourful front of Fun Square.  A giant big-screen above the entrance shows trailers of current and upcoming movies to whet your appetite.  A new Box Office is off to the left (although this doesn’t seem to be in use yet) and a gleaming new confectionery counter is immediately adjacent.

A set of escalators will take you up to the next level and entrance to cinema 8.  You are greeted by another, smaller confectionery booth, which we guess are so that punters coming from the 8th floor needn’t walk all the way down.

Inside Growball’s Ciname 8

Growball’s cinema 8 itself is a contender for biggest cinema in Kota Kinabalu with over 300 seats (tbc).  The entrance is at the top and back of the stadium-seating and offers an oh-wow moment as you take in the view of the deep, wide theatre hall that swoops down to the stage below.

The stage area is big enough for a small performance and it’s clear that the theatre was designed with more than just movies in mind.  Indeed, Growball cinema 8 is available to rent for presentations, product launches and lectures.

A comfortable seat especially for long movies

The seats in the cinema are chunky and solid and the high seat-backs proves to be very comfortable.

All the arm-rests can lift up, ensuring that, like in GSC, every seat is a potential love seat.  With slightly different padding compared to the GSC line, the Growball seats feel a smidgen more comfortable as it gives more support.  This is good for those 130 minute blockbusters.

The beauty of cinema 8 is that every single seat in the house has a great experience of the screen.  The screen is big enough to be impressive from the very back row, yet not so big that viewers in the front row will have to crank their necks to catch the entire scene.  The same goes for seats on the extreme edges, even from there the picture looks great.

The theatre is equipped with all the state of the art surround sound you’d expect from a new installation, which nicely rounds off the experience.

The only bad thing to be said about Growball’s cinema 8 is that like every other cinema in KK, the aircon can get a bit cold.  So if you’re prone to shiver easily, do bring along a jumper.

Oh and remember, the big, new movies usually show in cinema 8, so catch them while they’re new.

In search of experiencing the new cinemas for the first time, Sabahbah stumbled across the official launching of Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) in 1 Borneo.

With every visit the largest hyper mall in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and East Malaysia is looking more and more like one. Tonight 1 Borneo was actually busy with a host of people, locals and tourists alike.

GSC, as you may know by now, is located on the 2nd floor of 1 Borneo and it’s safe to say that it’s one of the major attractions at the moment. There are some other shops, which are completed and open, but none draw in the crowds like Golden Screen Cinemas do.

Although GSC in 1 Borneo has been trading since about 30 May, tonight was the official launch. A small, formal ceremony attended by GSC Chairman, General Tan Sri Dato Mohd Ghazali Seth, announced the fact and a short tour of the facilities declared it to be officially open.

The Sabahbah Test Panel sampled Superhero Movie. Although the movie itself was nothing to write about, it was a pleasure to experience it from new, comfortable seats in an international standard movie hall.

Let’s run you through the GSC 1 Borneo experience.

Ticket Collection

Our pre-booked tickets were quickly secured from the ticket box office, which are staffed with a generous number of staff. This means that even when it gets busy the queues should move along quickly, and with 8 screens you know it will get busy.

The skinny on movie prices at GSC 1 Borneo: Our movie tonight was RM8, as are all shows Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday after 6pm. Before 6pm they’re RM7 and before 12pm RM6, great for school holidays.

On Saturdays (this includes after midnight Friday night), Sundays, Public Holidays and the eve of a public holiday after 6pm, the shows are RM9.

On Wednesdays, all shows are RM6.

Students, Senior Citizens and handicapped movie goers pay RM6 for all shows before 6pm, except for weekends and public holidays. Children pay RM5 for all U-rated movies.

Confectionery

What’s a movie without popcorn? Just not the same.

GSC 1 Borneo offers the usual line-up of confectionary including the ever popular caramalised pop-corn, from very hi-tech pop-corn makers might we add, and a selection of F&N softdrinks, including ice lemon tea.

The pop-corn was fresh and crunchy and was neither too sweet nor too plain. The Sabahbah Test Panel Sprite tasted like it might have had just a bit more soda water in it than what the formula require. But we’re pedantic.

Cinemas

GSC in 1 Borneo brings 1,500 additional seats across 8 screens to KK’s movie circuit.

Cinema 1 is the biggest with 330 seats (plus 2 for wheelchair spaces), Cinema 2 has 274 (plus 2 for wheelchairs), Cinema 3 has 196 seats, Cinema 4 has 210 seats, Cinema 5 has 160 seats, and Cinemas 6 to 8 have 110 seats each.

All cinemas have stadium seating, which means no tall heads will spoil your show, ever. The seats flip up and the backs are high, providing ample support. They are also molded and at a fixed angle.

The mould of the seat-backs are very comfortable, although the angle might tire the body during one of those two or three hour epic movies. Will report back after we sit through one of those two to three hour epic movies.

The lighting in the cinema hall is appropriately subdued and faded out when the trailers started. The quality of the screen is superb and the sound is impecably balanced and at the perfect volume.

Something to commend GSC at 1 Borneo on is the temperature of the movie hall. It was perfect. The tendency in the down-town cinemas (they’re all guilty), is to chill the movie hall to a point where patrons start to shiver. No such issues at GSC 1 Borneo.

After the movie, patrons exit through the front and are channeled through a series of tunnels which exits to the back of the box office. You walk right into the bowling alley, or you will, once it’s finished.

The movie experience at GSC 1 Borneo was virtually flawless and it’s certain that the bar for movie night has been sufficiently raised.

Watch out for upcoming promotions and specials, although the experience in itself will see you returning again and again to Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) in 1 Borneo.

Looking for showtimes? Check out Growball movie listings on SabahBah.com’s Cinema Listings page.

Growball Cinemax is located on the 8th floor of Centrepoint Shopping Centre in the heart of Kota Kinabalu.

Growball shows a variety of Hollywood, Malay and Chinese movies. The screens are supported by confectionery counters selling soft-drinks, caramelised popcorn and hot-dog sausages.

Complementing the cinemas are an eatery, Internet cafe, pool hall, electronic video game arcade and the popular instant Karaoke machines, K-Box.

Co-located on the same level is KK’s current largest bowling centre, CPS Bowl.

A variety of show times feature at Growball Cinemax and depending on the day of the week, can start early morning until very late at night, with frequent midnight screenings of new releases.

Ticket prices very from RM5 on certain days with student discounts to RM17 for two on a couple seat, a couch-like seat with no armrests. Usual movie tickets are RM8.

For a listing of the latest movies and movie show times at Growball Cinemax, visit SabahBah’s Cinema Listings page.