Regal Winrock debuts multi-sensory experience with New Mexico’s first 4DX auditorium

Moviegoers in auditorium No. 1 were in for a wet and wild ride as they watched the live-action “Lilo & Stitch” remake at Regal Winrock on Tuesday — and not because of the plot.

As attendees watched the cute and fluffy blue alien create chaos on the big screen, the auditorium offered a chaos of its own with water spraying, wind blowing, seats rumbling and fog emerging.

“The water, the moving, it’s a great experience,” said Yoruba Moreu as he exited the auditorium.

The auditorium, one of 16 at Regal Winrock, offers an immersive, multi-sensory cinematic experience through a theater format known as 4DX. The format draws viewers into the action using motion, vibration, water, wind and scents administered by special seats, ceiling-strung wind turbines and other technology throughout the theater.

Regal Winrock debuted the 4DX auditorium, New Mexico’s first, with showings of “Lilo & Stitch” and “Ballerina” on June 6. General Manager Kyle Chavez said it was a packed house.

“Our opening day went incredibly well,” Chavez said. “In fact, for the first weekend, pretty much every single show was sold out for this auditorium.”

The arrival of 4DX is part of a larger wave of upgrades sweeping Regal Winrock and the surrounding Winrock Town Center. The entire theater is getting new signage, carpet and luxury recliner seats. Four auditoriums are still under construction, two of which will convert to IMAX and RPX formats that will offer “big screen, big sound,” Chavez said.

Chavez said those two auditoriums, expected to open in July, would make Regal Winrock one of the few Regal locations in the nation to offer all four premium formats: IMAX, RPX, 4DX and ScreenX, the latter of which has three screens in one auditorium.

The Winrock theater broke ground on the 4DX auditorium — one of Regal’s largest, according to Chavez — in January. The work was “intensive,” he said, adding that all seat platforms were raised about 8 feet higher to make room for the plumbing lines required for the water effects. There were also plumbing lines added to the ceiling.

Nozzles built into the auditorium’s 168 seats spray water during wet movie scenes, and additional sprays occasionally come from the ceiling. Each seat has a button that lets moviegoers turn off the spray effect. Additional effects include bubbles, snow and strobe lights.

As for scent effects, Chavez said the most common scents include ocean, floral and grass. Chavez said the 4DX experience and its more than 15 effects “really puts you inside the movie.”

Movie lovers and thrill seekers can currently watch movies in the 4DX format for an average of $20-21 per person, Chavez said. The effects are best experienced during action, horror and animated films, he added. The general manager said he anticipates worthwhile 4DX experiences for the live-action remake of “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Jurassic World Rebirth.”

“We’re excited for that one because the producers in the studio said that they had 4DX in mind when filming it,” Chavez said of “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which comes out July 2.

Regal Cinemas opened its first 4DX theater in Los Angeles in 2014 and has been expanding the format throughout its 408 theaters in 41 states ever since, Chavez said.

CJ 4DPLEX, based in Seoul, South Korea, is the producer of the technology and 4DX format that Regal uses in its theaters. Chavez said the company watches the movies, and programs the effects and their timing individually.

The new 4DX auditorium impressed Moreu. He attended the June 6 showing of “Ballerina” and came back for more on Tuesday.

“We don’t have much entertainment here in New Mexico and Albuquerque. We are starting to grow out of a mid-sized city to a bigger city, so we need more attractions like this,” Moreu said.