Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, Kadokawa Intercontinental Group is a major force in Hong Kong entertainment. Founded by Terry Lai, it encompasses Intercontinental Film Distributors Ltd., Hong Kong’s leading foreign film distributor for brands such as Disney, Paramount and DreamWorks; Intercontinental Video Ltd., the exclusive distributor for Walt Disney Home Entertainment, Universal Home Entertainment and Celestial Shaw Brothers Film Library; the ad agency Perfect Advertising and Production Company; Intercontinental Consumer Products Ltd., and much more.

Kadokawa Intercontinental Group also has a long history rooted in exhibition. Back in 1982, Intercontinental formed a cinema division and soon operated one of the largest cinema circuits in Hong Kong with a total of 11 sites. Then the company shifted its focus and resources to the expansion of its film and video distribution business.

After establishing itself as a successful local major film and video distributor, the company returned to developing its cinema business, believing that a cinema chain could create huge synergistic support for its film distribution activity. That was the genesis of Multiplex Cinema Limited, or MCL.

Today, MCL is a premium cinema chain operating, either fully self-owned or through joint-venture arrangements, seven locations in Hong Kong and China and a total of 38 screens. Their aim is to provide the most innovative and luxurious cinema experience to the moviegoers of Hong Kong and the Southern China region.

The past few years have witnessed rapid growth for MCL, spurred in part by a major investment in the parent company by Japanese publishing giant The Kadokawa Group.

The year 2006 marked the debut of the first MCL Cinema in Shekou, Shenzhen in China—the first cinema opened by a Hong Kong company under the CEPA II (Close Economic Pact Arrangement II). Wholly owned by MCL, this cinema has five auditoria totaling 629 seats, featuring the most modern luxury designs in the region.

In 2007, a joint venture with the Shaw Studio produced the deluxe Grand Cinema, the largest cinema complex in Hong Kong. Grand Cinema is located in Kowloon Station, one of Hong Kong’s prime commercial and residential areas, with 12 houses and a total of 1,600 seats. This cinema features a unique “Infrasonic” sound system which makes each seat vibrate.

In 2008, the circuit celebrated the opening of MCL Telford Cinema in the densely populated Eastern Kowloon area, adjacent to one of the largest shopping centers. This cinema has six auditoria and a total 822 seats. It is situated within a single building, which is rare in Hong Kong because of the city’s scarcity of land and high property values. The Telford cinema recently won the coveted “International Architecture Award” for 2009, organized by the Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and the European Center for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies because of its outstanding, innovative architectural designs.

In 2008, as a part of an effort to continuously upgrade existing cinemas, MCL Metro Cinema TKO expanded from five to seven houses for a total of 950 seats. Located in the new town of TKO (Tseung Kwan O), Metro Cinema features a five-story-high ticket lobby and many other user-friendly amenities.

Launching a new entertainment concept, combining moviegoing and dining into a one-stop social experience, MCL also began several ventures with branded restaurant groups including the famed local A-1 Bakery & Restaurant and the local leading café chain Tsui Wah Restaurant to set up cooperative restaurants inside two MCL cinemas, MCL Telford and MCL Metro Cinema.

MCL was the first cinema chain in Hong Kong to present digital screenings with the debut of Finding Nemo in 2003. In 2007, a digital 3D system was installed at the 4D Extreme Screen in the Hong Kong International Airport for Meet the Robinsons, distributed by Intercontinental Film Distributors; that engagement generated nearly HK$1 million. A second digital 3D system debuted at the Grand Cinema for the exhibition of The Nightmare Before Christmas, which brought a record-breaking HK$2 million. And response to the Hannah Montana 3D concert film at the Grand in 2008 was “overwhelming,” according to MCL execs.

MCL also organized Hong Kong’s first 3D Movie Festival, exhibiting a number of popular 3D films. The circuit also staged a “Fresh Wave” short films festival at MCL Telford Cinema this past May, utilizing digital projection to showcase award-winning short films produced by college students with a passion for film production. The competition was co-organized with the Hong Kong Arts Development Council.

Currently, about 30% of the circuit’s screens are digital-capable. MCL plans to increase that ratio to over 50% by mid-2010 and become 100% digital in 2011.

MCL takes particular pride in the success of its two-year-old Grand, which often hosts large-scale premiere events. This one location accounts for almost five percent of the local annual total box office.

The Grand’s pioneering ”Infrasonic” sound system connects custom-made speakers to specially engineered “vibrating” chairs. When the chair senses the “infrasound” (at a frequency that can’t be detected by human ears), its shake or vibrates, immersing the viewer into the movie action and providing an extra dimension to the cinema experience.

The Grand also offers a luxurious 23-seat VIP auditorium with a private lounge, exclusive entrance and separate booking counter; a gallery for displaying different kinds of move-related or cultural exhibits; an interactive game zone; a gourmet café shop and a fashionable restaurant called “Wild Ginger” offering a fusion of Japanese and Western food.

Wild Ginger is MCL’s third in-theatre restaurant. At the MCL Telford, the MCL Café and Deli sells Western-style light meals, while the MCL Metro’s Tsui Wah restaurant sells Hong Kong-style noodles, set meals and snacks. MCL concession counters, meanwhile, sell popcorn, soft drinks, juices, gourmet-brand chips, ice cream and candies, Starbucks coffee and tea, and Hong Kong-style specialties like dim sum, egg snacks and pudding.

The circuit is now in construction on its newest project, the MCL Lo Wu Cinema in Lo Wu, China, a five-screen complex with 536 seats slated to open in March 2010.

According to MCL general manager June Wong, “With emphasis on developing the markets in Hong Kong and the southern part of China, MCL has constantly been looking for new opportunities to open more exciting new sites with the aim to provide ever-improving and innovative cinema experiences to moviegoers. At the moment, we have several projects in discussion, which have met our initial criteria such as high traffic locations and rooms for multi-screens and in-cinema café operations.”

Wong notes that the Hong Kong market poses many challenges, from the limited supply of good cinema sites due to a shortage of land and high property prices; low ticket prices compared to other markets; and slow return on cinema investment. Even so, “being a member of Kadokawa Intercontinental Group, MCL has been given ample resources for expanding the chain to become one of the prime cinema operators in Hong Kong and across the region.”

The Kadokawa Intercontinental saga began in 1969, when Terry Lai and a partner started to acquire the foreign rights for local films. Dubbing them in English, they sold the films overseas to great success. This led Lai to produce five films herself. By the mid-1970s, she had built up a thriving business based on the export of local kung fu pictures and the importing of European films. As the Western kung fu craze began to subside, she turned her interests towards distributing foreign films in Hong Kong.

Lai then added a media and promotions section to her business. She made bold deals to advertise her films on TV (a breakthrough at the time) and staged high-profile publicity events. In 1983, she decided to rename the team and Perfect Advertising and Production Company (PAPC) was born.

Throughout the ’80s and into the ’90s, Lai acquired the rights to major independent productions such as The Last Emperor, the Rambo series, Basic Instinct and Die Hard with a Vengeance. Under her leadership, Intercontinental Film Distributors quickly became one of the leading film distributors in Hong Kong, a status cemented by its landmark deal with Disney in 1992. Since its founding, Intercontinental has released more than 1,500 feature films, and today handles more than 50 films per year.

In 1986, Lai became a founding member and chairperson of the Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association—the umbrella society for all filmed entertainment associations. During this time, she was instrumental in coordinating new censorship laws, which established clear rating categories still used today. In 1999, she was a key leader in arranging the joint anti-piracy effort of multinational intellectual-property rights associations and the local copyright industries. This convinced the Hong Kong SAR Government to take action against pirates and prevent copyright infringement, which had brought the local film and music industry to near ruin. Their involvement eventually sparked a resurgence in the local entertainment industry.

Since 2005, Lai has served on the Hong Kong Trade Development Council's Entertainment Industry Advisory Committee and the Hong Kong Government's Film Development Committee to improve the growth of local film production.

An active community person, she has been a founding member and vice chairman of the Children's Cancer Foundation since 1989. During the years she was an active member, the Fund grew into the major care-giving organization dedicated to easing the pain and stress caused to families when a child is stricken with this disease.

In 2004, Lai began supporting education in underprivileged areas of China, particularly in Guizhou. Together with the Grace Charity Foundation, she has worked to renovate and build schools in the area. To date, Lai and the Kadokawa Intercontinental Group have raised almost $1 million to build two high schools and two primary schools, as well as funded a teachers’ scholarship.

Lai’s invaluable partner in Kadokawa Intercontinental Group is director and CEO Rigo Jesu. Born in Shanghai in 1941, Jesu is of Italian, Portuguese and Chinese descent. His family was involved in China’s film subtitling, distribution and production business even before the formation of the People's Republic of China. Raised and educated in Hong Kong and the U.S., he obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University of Los Angeles and then returned to make Hong Kong his home.

Jesu began his career in entertainment at Capital Artists Limited and rose to acting general manager in 1973. During this period, he brought many international live performances to Hong Kong and established a music-publishing and recording division for local artists.

In 1980, Rigo left Capital Artists to form his own company, Jesu International Entertainment. His business focused on organizing and promoting international shows featuring artists like Eric Clapton, Elton John, Stevie Wonder and David Bowie.

Apart from running his own business, he also assisted Intercontinental Film Distributors in sourcing overseas films and introducing them into Hong Kong. In 1985, he decided to wholly devote his time to the growth and development of both the distributor and its parent company.

Now marking four decades of growth and innovation, Kadokawa International Group continues to expand its influence in the Hong Kong and China media world, with exciting new state-of-the-art cinemas and some of the world’s most successful movies to fill them.