ARTICLE
GV Funan - Singapore’s Newest Cineplex is literally in town!
By Say Peng / 28 Jun 2019 (Friday)
GV Funan - Singapore’s Newest Cineplex is literally in town!
GV Funan opens today on 28 June 2019, in conjunction with the opening of the newly revamped Funan Shopping Centre, now known as Funan Mall.
Given the frequency at which new cineplexes spring up in the last two years, what does GV Funan has to offer that sets it apart from the rest of the competition, and even from the rest of the Golden Village cineplexes?
Affordable Luxury
The one phrase that comes to mind at GV Funan is ‘Affordable Luxury’. Based on feedback that the cinema operator has gathered over the years since they first started the GV Gold Class, they found that there is a growing demand for premium seating cinema experiences, and some of the key desires patrons value are reclining seats and USB charging ports for the modern viewer who is constantly tethered to his mobile device. This feedback has resulted in the organisation of 431 seats in total, spread over seven halls.
Two of these halls are the popular couple-styled GEMINI Halls, with 68 seats to each hall. The GEMINI seats are as you wide as you would expect to find at other GV cineplexes, giving more room for both partners sitting next to each other.
Another two halls are the premium seating Deluxe Plus, with 40 single seats in one hall (Deluxe Plus Single), and another (Deluxe Plus Duo) boasting 54 seats in the style of GEMINI Halls.
What sets the Deluxe Plus apart from the others is that it allows you to lean back and relax in a semi-reclined position. This should be very popular with middle-aged Singaporeans who often complain of backaches watching movies for an extended time.
For the full reclining experience, then go for the cream of the crop experience - GV Gold Class found at other locations like GV VivoCity.
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If you feel that watching a movie in Gold Class is reserved for only select films, then having a similar experience without paying that price is the newly introduced Gold Class Express.
This format allows you to order your snacks ahead of time from the iGV mobile app. Once you arrive you simply need to pick up your orders and head straight into the hall.
Additionally, the ubiquitous Gold Class dining sets will be served to you by the butlers while you enjoy your movie as well, as well as the feeling of being in a pampered environment. However, you will not be to fully recline your seats as you would with the GV Gold Class.
For those who want their regular movie comfort, there remains two halls with 78 and 91 seats separately to cater to your needs.
Technological Improvements to the Cinematic Viewing Experience
All halls at GV Funan are installed with the state-of-the-art audiovisual systems like Barco Smart Laser Projection and Dolby Surround Sound, which allows for greater viewing immersion through sharper and brighter screens coupled with premium audio quality. The seats from GV Funan are from Ferco, which will be familiar to those who patronise GV Suntec and GV Paya Lebar, and you can expect the same kind of luxurious feel from those leather seats.
With more halls at a smaller cinema venue, new technology at the back-end also allows GV to be able to quickly curate any number of movie titles current and past within a very short time, so you may see a festival or thematic sort of programming happening more frequently for those with very specific tastes given the flexibility now available for their team not just at GV Funan, but also across all their cineplexes.
Feeling that the use of technology and in particular virtual reality experience has become so prevalent among cinema patrons, GV has introduced its first and only lobby corner with Virtual Reality Pods. This experimental and exclusive GV Funan offering aims to allow cinema patrons to have fun with content before watching a film. However, they are not bundled into your ticket price. It costs you $8 and $12 on weekdays and weekends respectively for a 15-min play on as many titles ranging from games, motion experiences and short content as you wish.
Making Movie-Viewing a more Holistic Experience
The usual mobile and self-service kiosk, as well as a Grab & Gold cafe, can be found here too.
Golden Village Chief Information Officer Chia Chong Hai feels that beyond the heated competition that we expect from IPTV providers like Netflix and the upcoming Disney+, movie-going will very much remain a social dimension to the total experience a consumer needs. This may be in the form of gathering among family and friends, couples or even corporate organisations looking for an opportunity to reward their employees.
While GV does not have immediate plans for another cinema, they are constantly looking out for new opportunities to bring their brand of the cinema-viewing experiences to other parts of Singapore, while at the same time trying to upgrade the movie-going experience among the older cineplexes under their belt.
The upcoming 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' opening on 4 July will be a good film for you to try out the various premium seat formats at GV Funan.
If the small screens are not to your taste, the nearby GV Capitol continues to play select titles at some times of the year through a special partnership with The Capitol Theatre. There, you can get the big screen if you so desire.
Ticket prices are shown in the tables below:
