Moviegoers in Japan looking for an immersive cinematic experience will soon have the opportunity to watch Ame Onna (Rain Woman), Takashi Shimizu’s (director noted for the Ju-on series and The Grudge) new horror short film produced exclusively for 4DX theaters. Produced and distributed by United Cinemas, REVAMP, and Nippon Television Network, Ame Onna will be initially screened at 24 4DX theaters run by three different cinema chain operators in Japan beginning on June 4.
4DX, an immersive theater technology from CJ 4DPLEX, features motion seats and environmental effects, will allow consumers to experience Ame Onna with special added rain effects that will help maximize the film’s tension and horror aspects. Following a recent special pre-screening of the 35-minute long Ame Onna in 4DX, audience members exclaimed: “I couldn’t have one single moment of relief since you never know when the seat suddenly moves. It really amplifies the feeling of horror.” And, “Rain was falling just like in the scenes, and I just felt like someone was standing behind me… and it really scared me.”
A production person remarked that 4DX helps overcome the limitation of expression and is the perfect format to deliver the calm and subtle sensations of tension, scary, and thrills that many Japanese horror films uniquely have.
Said Dong-hyun Kim, 4DX regional manager for Japan, “Japanese moviegoers seek to have more immersive and exciting experience and 4DX pursues to meet their needs. For this, we started collaborating with filmmakers. What is invigorating for us is that those filmmakers themselves are real 4DX fans and they love to make 4DX-exclusive films spontaneously. We expect the number of 4DX exclusive films will increase, not only short films but featured films in the near future.”
The Japanese market – in which 37 4DX screens are currently operating – is one of the fastest growing markets globally for 4DX. This 4DX boom in Japan actually was spurred on by the diversity of film genres available in the format ranging from Hollywood blockbusters to local animation films such as Girls und Panzer, which was a huge success pulling the title’s box-office ranking from 35th to 8th after re-launching in 4DX format.
About CJ 4DPLEX
CJ 4DPLEX is a subsidiary of CJ CGV, one of the global top 5 cinema companies. 4DX by CJ 4DPLEX is the world’s first 4D-technology based cinema brand for feature films. 4DX provides moviegoers with an immersive cinematic experience that utilizes all five senses, allowing the audience to connect with movies with motion, vibration, water, wind, snow, lighting, scents, and other special effects that enhance the visuals on-screen. Each 4DX auditorium incorporates motion-based seating synchronized with over 20 different effects and optimized by a team of skilled editors, maximizing the feeling of immersion within the movie, beyond the limits of audio and video. Since 2009, more than 300 Hollywood titles have been screened in 4DX with 4DX codes created for both major Hollywood blockbusters and local titles. As of June 2016, 4DX reaches over 32,000 seats in operation 246 auditoriums in 37 countries. For more information, please visit www.cj4dx.com.
