Over the first weekend of the month of March in 2025, I did something completely out of the new ordinary. An interesting type and kind of ordinary, I might add. I had the entire weekend alone with my son and was seeking a new activity or experience that we could do together to make some memories.

Then I recall an incident on the 14th of February 2025, when my son’s school held an interesting fundraising initiative. It was a movie night date where; the parents could drop off the kids at a specified time in the afternoon and return to collect them later in the evening while they all watched a movie together in class. This was in a bid to get the parents some time off to celebrate the special evening of love to catch up and rekindle with the kids well-looked after.

He enjoyed this evening and experience and ever since, he’s been constantly asking me when is he going back for movie night, and I never really had an answer for it. Until one Sunday afternoon the 9th of March 2025. I decided to take him to the cinema at the mall. I rarely watch movies at home, even with the plethora of streaming options at my disposal. This is quite ironic for someone who was a movie fanatic, back in the days.

I have never been to a Ster-kinekor movie outlet in a very long time. It’s been years. I even had to ask for some assistance to operate the self-help device as I had completely lost my bearings. I used to know my way quite well on this machine. I think the last time I went for a movie was when the Black Panther franchise was still abuzz or the Woman King in 2022. I even forgot where my movie loyalty card is – I’ve owned one for many years and had it automatically upgraded, with the number of movies I have watched over the years from a gold lower-end to a Platinum higher-end option. Over the years, I have not been using the card at all and that has since meant that the card had lost somewhat of its value and significance to carry around,

Taking my little one to the movies comes with a great level of responsibility and care. The choice in the movie to watch and his safety are of paramount importance. A child-friendly movie is ideal and even perfect if it’s an animation. We watched Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Luckily, we’ve watched both editions of Sonic previously and that made the choice easier for me. The movie was great, filled with stunning images, visuals, elements of humour that saw him crack up during the movie and a strong message on the beauty and importance of teamwork, which I also enjoyed and learned from. I am hoping he also gets to make his own lifetime memories with our outing together as I reminisce.

I remember my very first movie watched at the cinema. It was the year 2005 and the movie was Mr and Mrs Smith – starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt and it was at Carlton Centre in Johannesburg. The Carlton Centre is located in Johannesburg CBD at Commissioner Street and stands tall as one of the tallest buildings in Africa at 223 m. We were there as a group of associates from a project that we were a part of, and this was decided as our way of celebrating the milestones achieved at that time. The entire experience was a first and a completely new thing for me and so memorable that I vowed to do again soon. That moment led to many more movies that I got to see at that cinema, where I then became a regular. I started registering for their loyalty card and realized some benefits to the card that included, a 50% discount on the movie price on Tuesdays (I made good use of this deal during school holidays) and a free movie on my birthday.

I would plan my movie days quite well, from what I would wear, when I would wake up, catch and time the taxi from Soweto to Joburg CBD, walk to Carlton Centre and then get back home afterwards. I used my pocket money for all of this. Thankfully, the Ster-kinekor website also showed movie listings and screening times which made the planning easier.

I later discovered that some movies I had an interest in watching, were showing at only certain movie theaters and that would then prompt me to track the movie and the cinema house that would be closest for me. That’s how I discovered the Ster-kinekor movie outlet in Southgate Mall, South of Johannesburg. I also used to attend Saturday School classes in Braamfontein and after each session, I would either make my way to Carlton Centre or Southgate Mall to catch a movie afterwards before heading back home. This became a regular plan and activity for me, and I started building my movie watching repertoire and it grew from there.

The movie outlets in the country were countless and they are predominantly Ster-kinekor and Nu-Metro. As of 2016, Ster-kinekor had 58 movie outlets in the country with over 438 screens. The number of operating Ster-kinekor outlets is now at 36. The movie experience has also progressed and advanced over time from 2-D to 3-D, the I-Max and Cine-prestige experiences. The I-Max and Cine-prestige experiences offer a more VIP experience with enhanced picture and sound quality, more comfortable and reclining seating and in-house service while watching a movie. Ster-kinekor also had a Nouveau option, which I have personally tried in Rosebank when I watched the Oscar-winning theatre piece, now turned movie-screen play by August Wilson, Fences, starring Viola Davis. Oh, I am a big fan of her work.

The Ster-kinekor Nouveau offers more classical and drama-type movies which are mostly Oscar-nominated and are the unconventional option for audiences. Reality is the cinema attendances over the years have gone down and that also translates to profit losses that have negatively impacted the industry overall. COVID-19 made matters worse as people were not going out as often and a number of outlets have since closed down due to costs associated to keep them running. I also vividly remember watching the story of South African photojournalist Can Themba where Taye Diggs was the lead actor in the movie Drum, at Carlton Centre. A movie that I really enjoyed watching. It had a good balance of black history, good acting and music which I really enjoy. I also once took my little sister to watch her first movie at Carlton Centre which was the animation movie Cars, a movie she remembers to this day. Other noteworthy movies I have watched on the big screen include Evan Almighty, Click, Phat girls, Precious, Invictus, Tammy, White wedding, Dreamgirls, Hairspray, Frozen, The Heat, Snakes on a plane, The Best Man holiday, About last night and Moana to mention a few – I’ve watched so many more.

My choice of film is varied and had no specific preference, but I really enjoyed local movies and animation movies the most. I enjoy watching movies alone but also those experiences where I am with other people. I also once took my family for a movie called Mandela: Long Walk to freedom, a 2013 film starring Idris Elba as Nelson Mandela. I am all about spreading the things I enjoy experiencing with others especially those who are close to me. I also remember how I once won double tickets from City Press to watch the exclusive screening of Hidden Figures, a movie starring Taraji P Henson, Janelle Monae and Octavia Spencer. I also appeared in an article where that premier was covered.

Watching movies at the cinema house was a big thing back then, you easily saw snakingly long queues when a huge movie was finally out – the likes of Black Panther and Avatar are key examples. I personally think that the act of taking someone out for a movie is one of the most obvious signs of showing love. If a someone took you out for a movie, they were seriously into you. The entire process shows great care, effort, time and costs that one is willing to go through for that one cinematic experience that will last way after the movie credits stop showing. One of the aspects I believe may have contributed to reduced seats being occupied in movie theaters is the high costs associated with going to the movies. The tickets, if it’s a 3-D movie, are far more expensive than an ordinary 2-D movie and the costs of those loud popcorn, juice and snacks made the entire trip a hefty expense. Is there really a need for popcorn when you’re watching a movie because these cause distraction for those who are fully immersed into the movie. There was a time when buying a movie came with a specific seat and if you’re not occupying that seat, it causes commotion where even the cinema manager or duty personnel get involved to distract all of us. Drama within a drama house. These days, you get a ticket, and it matters less where you sit because the theatre house is not always packed like before. You sit pretty much anywhere you feel comfortable when you’re inside.

The cinema experience is always better – the big screen, picture quality, clear and crisp sound makes all the elements in a movie easily come alive. 3-D also enhances a few elements in the movie to easily stand out and make the experience an interactive one. These days, TV screens and sound bars in lounges are as massive and they offer somewhat of a similar experience from the comfort of one’s home.

Maponya Mall was officially opened in Pimville, Soweto in September 2007 and following this, I frequently also went to that Ster-kinekor outlet as well. It is still the largest mall in Soweto at 65 000 square kilometers. Fortunately, for me, it was closer to home than both Southgate Mall and Carlton Centre. Going to Maponya Mall, I would take a taxi from Protea Glen to Baragwanath Hospital then would disembark en route. Maponya Mall is just on the left-hand side along the popular Chris Hani Road, in Pimville going Eastwards from the Western of Soweto. I hear this Ster-kinekor is no longer operational, which is unfortunate. I also doubt whether the one at Carlton Centre is still operating. This Ster-kinekor cinema at Maponya Mall was one of the first in the township and it played a huge role in bridging the gap and bringing the movie watching experience closer to the people from the township. Before it opened, people had to go all the way to Westgate Mall in the West Rand, Southgate Mall in the South or Joburg town at Carlton Centre to watch a movie, which was not really convenient.

It is interesting to see the cinemas still operating to this day after the transitions that the industry has experienced. There was the advent of piracy initially, which threatened to cripple it, and it managed to survive. Then came COVID-19 and the various movie streaming platforms that are easily available to us through phones and our smart TVs, which have seriously dented the trajectory of the likes of Ster-kinekor and Nu-Metro over the recent years. The future also seems uncertain, yet it’s a welcomed relief to see these big cinema brands giving themselves a fighting chance at survival in the war.

What are your cinema experience memories? Do you recall the first movie you ever watched on the big screen? When last did you go to the cinema? Let’s go memory lane and hopefully, back to filling up the cinema seats again.