People try out Tremor FX theater seating during the CinemaCon trade show at Caesars Palace Tuesday, April 12, 2016. The chair works with the movie soundtrack to help viewer feel the vibrations of an explosion or the force of a punch. The sound waves are converted into vibrations in different areas of the seat depending on the pitch of the wave.
Thursday, April 14, 2016 | 2 a.m.
More than 5,000 participants and nearly 500 exhibitors visited the Caesars Palace conference center Wednesday, where everything from a 4-D simulated movie-watching experience to new flavors of popcorn and even healthy food alternatives were showcased during CinemaCon 2016.
Returning for its fifth year to the Las Vegas Valley, the annual movie convention started Tuesday and concludes Thursday, offering a slew of new products and trends.
Here are the five most distinctive items we found on the showroom floor:
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MX4D by MediaMation
If wearing 3-D glasses and watching the characters of a movie pop out of the screen wasn’t enough, the latest 4-D technology also lets movie watchers feel the sensory effects of scenes in their seat and the surrounding theater environment.
Special seats, designed to mimic the motion of the on-screen action, move viewers up, down, forward and backward, while theater effects such as wind, fog, strobe lights, bubbles and rain combine to make viewers feel like they’re in the movie.
Armrests on the 4-D seats also blast water, air and scents in the faces of viewers.
“Everything in your seat moves when it moves on screen,” said Alison Jamele, MediaMation’s president and CEO.
Other seat features, according to Jamele, are the “back poker,” “seat popper” “leg tickler” and “neck tickler.”
Originally made popular at theme parks, Torrence, Calif.-based MediaMotion is one of less than five companies across the globe bringing the 4-D theater technology to movie theaters worldwide.
The 4-D theater concept is growing faster in Latin America and Asia than the United States, Jamele said. She attributes the international customer growth to more “openness” among international theater owners.
“I think cinema executives here are a little older and more conservative than in other parts of the world,” she said. “They’re generally not as forward-thinking and may not want to rock the boat as much.”
Jamele said MediaMation’s MX4D system is in now installed in over 100 theaters around the world.
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EdaMovie by EdaCo
Tired of going to the movie theater and having to choose between junk foods for your snack? Enter EdaMovie, an 8-ounce, 150-calorie bag of edamame, now being sold at over 100 theaters across the United States.
Making its CinemaCon debut, EdaMovie is less than a year old and is sold mainly in Western United States theaters, said product founder Dr. Ron Law, a retired cardiologist.
But despite its caloric difference, EdaMovie doesn’t deviate too far from traditional movie snacks, Law said.
“It’s natural to have finger food in the movies,” Law said. “It’s the same hand-to-mouth action as popcorn. And it will last you at least a half-hour.”
The vegetable snack comes lightly salted and is microwaved in a bag before being served to customers, for $6.50. Law said that while edamame is a nutritional alternative to traditional theater foods such as popcorn and candy, it’s also “fun.”
“Not greasy, all natural and high in protein,” he said. “And you can share it. What’s not to like?”
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Cheetos-flavored popcorn by Frito Lay
No, it’s not just cheese-flavored popcorn. The new Cheetos-flavored concept includes popcorn with special Cheetos cheese sauce mixed in a popcorn maker with actual Cheetos.
The idea, designed in 2015, already has caught on in a number of ballparks and amusement parks, said Frito Lay spokeswoman Laura Van Schaick. But it has yet to hit the movie-theater scene. The company hopes to change that soon and is “actively marketing” the product to theaters across the United States.
“It’s pretty much a combination of the two best snack foods on Earth,” Van Schaick said. “People go nuts for it.”
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Kim’s Bob Pop by Delice Global
Another healthier alternative to buttery popcorn and sugar-filled candy, Kim’s Bob Pop is made with brown rice, pressured and inflated into a crispy nutritious snack. With seven different flavors, including wasabi, chipotle, dark chocolate, coconut and caramel, the Palisades Park, N.J.-based Kim’s Bob Pop is currently sold at major grocery stores across the United States, but national director Peter Kim said he’d like to soon see it at movie theaters.
“No oil, no sugar, just rice and a little bit of pressure,” Kim said. “It’s all good for you.”
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Movie Buff by Purvis Enterprises
“Finally, a place for all that useless knowledge,” exclaimed Justin Purvis, founder of Movie Buff card game, which debuted in 2015.
A project “nearly a decade in the making,” Purvis said, Movie Buff shares some qualities of Uno. But the game uses movie quotes, characters and settings, and allows for up to 16 people to compete at once, said Purvis, whose blue hair was also among the most unique hairstyles on Wednesday’s showroom floor.
“Everybody has this little bit of useless knowledge that they’re told they can’t do anything with,” Purvis said. “And I want to prove with this card game that you can.”
The game, which sells for $25, was sold out online and on Amazon on Wednesday, but Purvis said they’re expecting another shipment by June 2016
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