The long-awaited premium cinema facility, the Watch-and-Dine Cinema, located inside Kumasi’s most coveted destination for affordable one-stop shopping and recreation, Kumasi City Mall, has officially been opened to the public at a short but colorful ceremony.
The opening of the facility is expected to contribute significantly to revive the local movie and entertainment industry whilst also deepening the standards of movies produced.
The Watch and Dine Cinema features four executive state-of-the-art movie theatres, all fitted with deluxe furnishing and superior acoustics and image projection. All four screens at the cinema are 3D and projections are made with High Definition imaging equipment.
It also comes with a total of 330 seats, comprising 30 seats in a VVIP theatre, 56 Seats in a VIP and two standard theatres, with seating capacities of 137 and 107 respectively while the restaurant offers a lip-smacking variety of continental and local fast-foods. All four theatres operate seat reservation schedules for customers.
The Kumasi city, once revered as the entertainment hub of Ghana, is hoped will regain its lost glories in the entertainment industry given the world-class customer services being rendered in addition to the grandeur of the facility.
The Managing Director of the W&D Cinema, Mr. Osei Agyemang Duah, said the facility is comparable to very few cinemas worldwide, which combines movie theatre and restaurant into one.
He said: “What we have here at KCM is an uncommon concept even in the advanced countries. It is the best anyone can get of two worlds – a movie theatre and a restaurant – rolled into one.”
“It is the first of its kind in West Africa and is already ranked as the 13th on the list of highly rated cinemas around the world along with cinema heavyweights like the AMC Dine-In in the United States, the Odeon Lounge in the United Kingdom and the Nu Metro Cinema in South Africa.,” he added.
He noted that the presence of the facility will provide a serene and relaxing experience to movie patrons in the Region.
The Acting President of Actors Guild, Mr. Bill Asamoah, said the establishment of the facility provides new grounds and a solution the challenge of movie producers to premier movies.
Notwithstanding this, he also said locating the world-class facility in the Region should challenge the local movie industry to meet the standards.
He said looking at the government interest in the Creative Arts Industry, it will be ideal for government partner others or single handedly establish some of these facilities across various parts of the country.
Bill Asamoah was hopeful that the Creative Arts Fund, promised by the government, will provide film producers a reliable avenue to seek funds to support the production of quality movies that tells the history of Ghana and her people.
“Hitherto a lot of cinema halls existed in the City, however, all these facilities have been taken over by some churches and we appealed to churches to also make room to promote the local movie industry.”
