A Trip to the Cine: A Third World Mexican Movie Experience Seeing Doctor Strange

Last night we went to a movie theater here in Acapulco to see the new Marvel Movie, Doctor Strange.  We were there with our best local friend and movie buddy, as well as one of his Mexican friends.  On one of our previous visits we had been given some cards that were basically two for one tickets, with their last usable day being November 3rd.  So last night, we took advantage and took another trip to cine. Something I love here is the experience you get for the price, this movie theater is nicer than most in the states at a fraction of the cost. 

The following photos are just of the area surrounding the movie theater, which is a multi-level indoor mall in Acapulco, called the Gallerias Diana. 

A photo of some stores, featuring American name brands like Sketchers. 

The back end of the mall containing the movie theater, showing the several stories it has.

The front of the mall, with the view from the movie theater.  Note the Starbucks and Western style clothing stores. 

Just some of the stores featured in the mall the Movie theater is in. 

Just like any movie theater you've ever been to, everything starts with the ticket counter.  They do have an online option that makes it so all you have to do is show the ticket on your phone to the usher of the theater and you're in.  They also have a Netflix competitor called Klic (I think, something to that extent) which you can spend pesos and watch movies they have available online. Prices are super low, currently 54 pesos for general adult admission, which is about $2.50 USD.  Children get in for 45 pesos.  I'm not sure, but it seems like the prices have risen in terms of pesos since we moved here, although not in terms to the USD. 

  When choosing a movie, it's important to pick the right one.  American movies are super common although there are a few options in terms how they handle the language barrier.  There are generally (badly) translated and voiced over versions.  The best route to go is to just watch it in English with subtitles, which is what we did last night.  Beyond that, you have the choice between VIP (which I'll explain below), MacroX and 3D movies to spice things up.  We ended up in a 3D movie last night.  I'll say that they overdid the 3d a bit in Doctor Strange, making it tough to focus your eyes sometimes.

 

For only 117 pesos (About 6 USD) for adult admission (100 pesos for the kids, or about 5 USD) and you get a VIP experience.  You go into the theater where servers take your order before the film, while you sit in recliners.  I've not had the pleasure to have this experience yet, but I'm sure I will soon. When the movie starts they serve you everything you ordered, which you can enjoy while you watch the movie. The community here is known for doing movie meetups at the Gallerias Diana location, to take full advantage of the VIP section. 

Prices are a fraction of what there are in the states for snack, with way more options.  You can get a combo with two giant drinks, two large hot dogs and a large popcorn for like 225 pesos, just a bit over 10 USD. In the states, where I'm from at least, that would be a 30 dollar combo, at the least.  Candy bars and boxes are like 25-30 pesos each, depending, so never more than 2 dollars for anything.  

Options are endless, much more so than in the states.  There are 5 different popcorn options, and you can get more than one type in your bucket.  They have caramel corn, spicy popcorn, cheesy popcorn, buttered and lightly buttered.  With the condiments for the hot dogs,  there is a pump that contains even more butter, for the customer to put on at their will.  There is a self serve candy counter, with delicious gummies.  The whole experience gives you sort of a candy store atmosphere. 

If you need some coffee, they have an in house coffee shop that's way cheaper than the Starbucks lower in the mall. Prices are about 20 pesos for a coffee, with the most expensive thing being 55 pesos, which is about 2.50 USD. I've heard the coffee is pretty good there, although I'm not a coffee person myself.

It was evidently in the process of being cleaned when we showed up, as it wasn't currently open, but they had an in house soft serve ice cream place as well. They had all sorts of options themselves, for great prices with the most expensive item being 25 pesos, or just over a dollar. You can get sprinkles, nuts, dipped cones, blizzards.  

This place is incredibly kid friendly, with lots of arcade games to show for itself. They also have booster seats for kids outside every theater, a nice touch.  The seats in the general theaters are pretty big and luxurious compared to American theaters, so I can see where it would be hard to see for a short, little kid without one.

The movie was good, although I would have preferred it not in 3D.  In their efforts, they over did the 3D a little, making it hard to focus at points.  This made a bad headache worse for me, but I still had fun regardless.  The movie was really good, had great visual effects. The actors were very good, honestly my only issue was the overdoing of the 3D.  It wasn't even always over done, sometimes the effects were quite spectacular, but they could have gone a little lighter on some things.  It'd certainly make the viewing experience more pleasant to people. 

All in all the Mexican movie experience is great, completely opposite of the third world view many give me of Mexico.  In many ways, due to lack of government regulation in business, lots of things here are actually better and more fun, for cheaper than the states.  Water parks are an example of this, we have a decent sized water park right on the Coastera, the main road through Acapulco.  They're open every day of the year and they do very well for it. My first movie experience was crazy, as I couldn't fathom getting such an experience for so cheap in the states.  Just another example that things aren't as they seem from the United States, life here is much better than you'd expect.  And cheaper.