Senior citizens will from Monday be able to watch their favorite films for just 25 yuan (US$4) at any of 50 cinemas across the city.
Thanks to a new scheme sponsored by e-commerce giant Tencent, moviegoers aged 60 and over will be entitled to an extra 10 yuan off already-discounted prices by using the WeChat app on their smartphones to scan a special QR code.
The offer applies to all films screened between 10am and 6pm on weekdays, said Hu Jinjun, director of the Shanghai Culture, Radio Broadcasting, Film and Television Administration.
While the extended offer will initially apply to only 50 theaters, it is expected in the future to be rolled out to all 107 venues that are currently involved in the senior discount scheme, he said.
Shanghai has 190 cinemas, of which 107 have for the past six months offered 35 yuan tickets to the over-60s. The regular price of a seat at most venues is between 40 and 100 yuan.
The new promotion is expected to cost Tencent, which owns WeChat, about 3 million yuan, said Cai Weijie, publicity director for the Shanghai Film Distribution and Exhibition Association.
"The 35-yuan ticket program resulted in a sharp increase in the number of old people going to the cinema and we expect the new incentive to boost that figure still further," she said.
Rachel Tang, a PR manager at the UME cinema in the Xintiandi area of the city, said that since the introduction of low-cost tickets the number of senior visitors has risen to between 10 and 20 a day.
"Before that, we saw hardly any old people here," she said.
The UME is one of the 50 venues taking part in the new promotion, she said.
