Even as cinemas have re-opened for business, mandatory safety regulations have made a trip to the cinema a lot more different than it normally was before the Circuit Breaker. Despite the available option for us to return to the cinemas safely, there are still some of us who are hesitant about subjecting ourselves to the duration of a movie in a cinema with 49 other strangers.
In an effort to give us more alternatives to movie viewing, local cinemas have created digital platforms where they provide on-demand streaming services. However, unlike the mainstream, blockbuster titles available at the cinema, these streaming services are currently only able to offer a curated mix of normal, indie and arthouse films.
Here’s a look at the three places offering on-demand movie streaming.
THE PROJECTOR
Love heading to The Projector for movies? Now you can replicate that feeling right at home with The Projector’s new movies-on-demand service — The Projector Plus. Similar to renting a movie from other sources, the homegrown indie cinema presents a curated list of titles from documentaries to horror and special themed showcases, like the Zhang Yimou ♥ Gong Li showcase, which you can rent whenever you like for 24 hours.
Simply create or log in to your P+ account, pick a movie and you’re good to go!
Fee:
🎟️ $10 per movie until 31 July
🎟️ From 1 August, it will be $12 per movie
Rental Period: 24 hours from the time of the transaction
Titles Include: Support the Girls, Raise the Red Lantern, The Lunchbox
To browse the list of movies available, click here. To register as a Projector Plus member, click here. For more information, click here.
KINOLOUNGE BY SHAW THEATRES
As an extension of Shaw Theatres, the KinoLounge was set up to serve as an alternative platform for community events such as interactive film festivals, special themed screenings and movie parties. The idea is for KinoLounge to collaborate with local film festivals, film societies and organisers to share exclusive films and footages in an interactive setting.
The virtual cinema platform hosts a curated list of quality movies that are exclusive to KinoLounge and are not shown in any other cinemas in Singapore. To ensure top viewing quality, KinoLounge by Shaw Theatres uses a Hollywood Studio-grade level Digital Rights Management (DRM) service that ensures playback only occurs on an authenticated video player.
Fee: $12.99 per movie
Rental period: 14 days with a 48-hour unlimited playback window that starts the moment you press play
Titles Include: Swallow, #IAmHere, Beauty and the Beast
To browse the list of movies available, click here. To register as a KinoLounge member, click here. For more information, click here.
ANTICIPATE PICTURES
Though not specifically a cinema, Anticipate Pictures is an independent Singapore film distribution company that has continuously served its viewers with exciting U.S. independent films, cutting edge European arthouse cinema and documentaries from around the world.
Often found showcasing their films at literary festivals and events, Anticipate Pictures has taken their films online to offer viewers a chance to stream their catalogue of exclusive films at home. All you’ll have to do is create a Vimeo account for free and you’ll have the option to either rent or buy the film you’ve selected.
Fee:
🎟️ From USD $6.99 (approx. SGD $10) per movie for 48-hour streaming period
🎟️ From USD $13.99 (approx. SGD $19) per movie for streaming anytime
Rental period:
🎥 48-hour streaming period
🎥 Unlimited streaming
Titles Include: Suspiria, Portrait of a Lady on Fire, City of Ghosts
To browse the list of movies available, click here. To register as a Vimeo member, click here. For more information, click here.
COMING SOON: CATHAY CINEHOME
Coming soon in the later half of this year is the all-new Cathay CineHOME — a video-on-demand service that will feature new movies after it has ended its run in cinemas, as well as visual content created for the streaming market.
As of now, information regarding the service is still kept hush-hush though it has been reported that the platform will operate with pay-per-view prices without subscription-based plans.
Banner image courtesy of Anticipate Pictures, The Projector and Shaw Theatres.
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