Star Cineplex is gearing up to bring two much-anticipated Hollywood films to Bangladeshi screens this Friday, November 22: the epic musical fantasy “Wicked” and the Christmas-themed action-comedy “Red One”. Directed by Jon M. Chu, “Wicked” stars Cynthia Erivo and Grammy-winning pop sensation Ariana Grande in lead roles. The supporting cast boasts a star-studded lineup, including Jonathan Bailey, Ethan Slater, Bowen Yang, Marissa Bode, Peter Dinklage, Michelle Yeoh, and Jeff Goldblum. The film is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, which was itself inspired by Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel. This is the first of a two-part cinematic adaptation produced by Universal Pictures and Marc Platt. The decision to split the story into two parts ensures no key plot points or songs from the stage production are excluded. “Wicked” premiered on November 3 at the State Theatre in Sydney, Australia, where it received positive reviews. Critics have praised Ariana Grande's performance, with many calling it one of the standout elements of the film. For those seeking festive cheer with an action-packed twist, “Red One” offers a fresh take on Christmas. Directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Chris Morgan, the movie features Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and “Captain America” star Chris Evans in lead roles. The plot centers on an ambitious mission to rescue Santa Claus, played by Academy Award winner J.K. Simmons, after his abduction on Christmas Eve. Johnson portrays Callum Drift, the head of North Pole security, while Evans takes on the role of Jack O'Malley, a notorious hacker turned bounty hunter. Together, they navigate a high-stakes adventure to save Christmas. The film also features Lucy Liu, Kiernan Shipka, Bonnie Hunt, Nick Kroll, Kristofer Hivju, and Wesley Kimmel in key roles. Produced by Amazon MGM Studios in collaboration with Seven Bucks Productions and Chris Morgan Productions, “Red One” has been touted as the beginning of a potential holiday franchise. Released internationally on November 15 by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film has already garnered attention for its unique premise and dynamic performances. Star Cineplex anticipates that both films will captivate Bangladeshi audiences in the coming weeks. With “Wicked” offering a sweeping musical narrative and “Red One” delivering a festive action-comedy spectacle, moviegoers are in for a treat this holiday season.  

"Birkonna Pritilata," a government grant recipient movie based on the life of revolutionary Pritilata Waddedar, premiered Wednesday at Star Cineplex. The film, based on the novel "Bhalobasha Pritilata" by novelist Selina Hossain, is set to hit the theatres on Friday. Popular actress Nusrat Imrose Tisha played the role of Pritilata, one of the leaders and the first female martyr of the anti-British movement, and Manoj Pramanik the role of revolutionary Ram Krishna in this film. Team Birkonna joined today's event alongside director Pradip Ghosh. Trisha said, "Portraying Pritilata was very challenging as we had no video documentation of her time. We had to prepare ourselves by reading books to get into the characters. But we tried our best." Pritilata was born in a middle-class Vaidya Brahmin family on May 5, 1911, in Dhalghat village in Patiya upazila of Chattogram. In 1929, she got admitted to Eden College before joining the Independence Movement of the Indian Subcontinent in 1932 to liberate the region from British colonial rule. Regarded as "Bengal's first woman martyr," she ended her life by consuming potassium cyanide on September 24, 1932, at the age of 21. Read more: 'Omanush' released in 41 theatres

Five winners of Star Cineplex's "Awesome Autumn" campaign, selected through a raffle draw, have received air tickets and movie vouchers. They watched movies at Star Cineplex from October 1-31. First prize winner Nasreen Akhtar got Dhaka-Maldives-Dhaka air tickets for two; second prize winner Sirajul Islam Rana received Dhaka-Cox's Bazar-Dhaka air tickets for as many people.  Private carrier US Bangla Airlines provided the tickets. However, Star Cineplex will not arrange accommodation for the winners. The other winners received movie vouchers from Star Cineplex. The third prize winner got six movie vouchers, the fourth prize winner won four and the fifth prize winner received two movie vouchers. Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Senior Manager (Media and Marketing) of Star Cineplex said: "The prizes were handed over to the winners at Star Cineplex Bashundhara City Shopping Mall branch in Panthapath in the capital on November 9." Star Cineplex started its journey in 2004 at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall in the capital's Panthapath. Now it has branches at Shimanto Shimanto Shambhar in Dhanmondi, Sony Square in Mirpur, SKS Tower in Mohakhali, and Bangabandhu Military Museum in Bijoy Sarani in the capital. Two more branches are under construction outside Dhaka in Chittogram and Bogura. Read more: Saman Ali finally watches 'Poran' at Star Cineplex wearing lungi

‘Black Adam,’ one of the most anticipated Hollywood movies in 2022 starring popular actor Dwayne Johnson, hit US theatres on Friday (October 21, 2022) as well as Star Cineplex in Bangladesh. The superhero movie is a spin-off of Shazam! (2019), the 11th movie in the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), and the first movie in the franchise's Phase One, based on the same-named DC Comics character. A ‘Shazam!’ spin-off produced by Warner Brothers and New Line Cinema, ‘Brack Adam’ first debuted in DC Comics in the 1940s as a villain; however, in 2000, it was re-introduced as an anti-hero. Read Star Cineplex's Awesome Autumn gives moviegoers chance to win trip to Maldives. The character of Black Adam, portrayed by wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, possessed divine abilities from the Egyptian gods. After being freed from the earth for approximately five thousand years, he returned to the modern world to take part in an exciting conflict over justice and retaliation, crossing the path with the Justice Society of America (JAS). Dwayne Johnson, the main draw as the title character, is appearing in a DC Comics movie for the first time with this film. In addition to this, Pierce Brosnan, the former James Bond actor, is also playing a special character in the film. Moviegoers and DCEU fans in Bangladesh have been eagerly waiting to see the powerful anti-hero in the theatres. Marking the release, Star Cineplex arranged a gala press premiere on Thursday (October 20, 2022) night at its SKS Tower branch in the capital which was joined by journalists from different media outlets alongside popular celebrities and social media influencers. Read New Releases: Top 10 South Indian Movies to Watch in October 2022 “Previously, it was unthinkable for moviegoers in our country to watch the most eagerly awaited Hollywood productions on the day of their international premiere. Star Cineplex brought that opportunity to its fans and now we are premiering the biggest Hollywood films on the same day of their global releases, and we will continue this trend for our moviegoers,” Star Cineplex parent company ShowMotion Limited Chairman Mahboob Rahman Ruhel said at the event. He also informed that the Cineplex is bringing two of the next most-anticipated Hollywood films in the upcoming months - the celebrated Marvel Comics superhero ‘Black Panther’ sequel ‘Wakanda Forever’ in November, and ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ in December, the second installation of the groundbreaking American epic science-fiction film ‘Avatar’ (2009), directed by James Cameron. Star Cineplex is now showing the film ‘Black Adam’ across all of its five branches in the capital - Bashundhara City in Panthapath, Shimanto Shambhar in Dhanmondi, Sony Square in Mirpur, SKS Tower, Mohakhali and Bangabandhu Military Museum in Bijoy Sarani. Read Star Cineplex's Awesome Autumn gives moviegoers chance to win trip to Maldives.

Introducing Bangladeshi audience to world-class movie experience in 2004, Star Cineplex, the first multiplex chain in Bangladesh, celebrated its 18th anniversary yesterday. The multiplex brand started its journey on October 8, 2004 with its maiden branch in the Dhaka’s Bashundhara City Shopping Mall. To celebrate 18th anniversary, Star Cineplex organised a gala event on Saturday night at its SKS Tower branch in Mohakhali, which was joined by an ensemble cast of celebrities and media personalities. Popular actors and directors including Chanchal Chowdhury, Azmeri Haque Badhan, Saimon Sadik, Sumon Anowar, Chayanika Chowdhury; the entire team of the upcoming film ‘Damal’ featuring Siam Ahmed, Bidya Sinha Saha Mim, Shariful Razz, Rashed Mamun Apu, director Raihan Rafi; the team of ‘Operation Sundarban’ including Roshan, director Dipankar Dipon; Star Cineplex produced and National Award-winning film ‘No Dorai’ famed actress Sunehra Binte Kamal and others joined the celebration with Star Cineplex.  “We started our journey 18 years ago with a dream that has now become a reality — that audiences will return to the theatres. Our first two years were spent making people realise what we are offering: the Dolby Atmos surround system, the high definition screens and more. Eventually, the moviegoers gave us their support and we are amazed to observe the love we got from our audiences, filmmakers, artists, journalists and other associates over these years,” Star Cineplex parent company ShowMotion Limited Chairman Mahboob Rahman Ruhel said at the event. Sharing his gratitude, he told UNB that Star Cineplex is forever indebted to movie lovers, associates and the local media for a particular reason. "We struggled from the very beginning but things got out of control during the COVID-19 lockdown. Our halls were closed for such a long time, we could not pay our rent to the Bashundhara City authority and as a result, we announced the closing of that branch as we received an eviction notice. The way our beloved moviegoers and media friends helped us at the time, it was unbelievable and that eventually saved the original branch," Ruhel told UNB. At the event, he announced that the Cineplex authority is already coming up with new branches in major cities and after the commercial and critical success of ‘No Dorai’, Star Cineplex is set to produce 4 new films. “We initially had a dream that within 18 years, we would have 100 screens — but due to circumstances, we could not open more than 18 screens. That is going to be changed in the coming days, as we are opening new screens almost all over the country. We are very thankful to the government as new theatre entrepreneurs have become eligible to get low-interest loans, which will eventually help the industry grow more,” Star Cineplex chairman said. Cineplex authority congratulated the teams of ‘Poran’ and ‘Hawa’ at the event. The latter has broken Cineplex’s highest-grossing record of all time, according to Ruhel. The ceremony ended with cutting cake with the stars, celebrating the 18th birthday of the first Bangladeshi multiplex chain. This was followed by the screenings of two Hollywood films at Star Cineplex — ‘The Woman King’ and ‘The Free Fall.’  

After being denied tickets at Star Cineplex Mirpur for wearing lungi, Saman Ali Sarkar finally got to watch the recently released film "Poran" Thursday with his family at the same branch. Star Cineplex shared Saman's photo with his family on its Facebook page. The Cineplex's Sony Square branch had invited them to watch the film. Earlier, a video, in which Saman said the Cineplex had refused to sell a ticket to him as he was wearing a lungi, took social media by storm. The film fraternity also took a swipe at the authorities. The Cineplex later apologised for not allowing the elderly customer to enter its cinema hall. "Star Cineplex does not discriminate against customers based on anything, least of all a person's attire. No such policies exist at our organisation that would deny a person the right to purchase a ticket because of them choosing to wear a lungi," Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Star Cineplex's senior manager of media and marketing, said.  Read: Mim, Razz want to watch ‘Poran’ with elderly person denied entry to Cineplex for ‘lungi’ "The incident being circulated through social media is most likely the result of an unfortunate misunderstanding. We are deeply shocked to see such an event take place and grateful to the relevant parties for bringing it to our attention. We would like to warmly invite this person alongside his family to our Sony Square branch to watch Poran. Furthermore, we are investigating this incident as we speak to ensure no such misunderstandings take place in the future." Poran lead actors Bidya Sinha Saha Mim and Sariful Razz took to Facebook, saying they want to watch the film with Saman.

Hollywood's iconic actor Tom Cruise starrer film ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ had its global release on Friday, and the country’s first multiplex chain Star Cineplex also brought the action-drama film to Bangladeshi cinephiles in line with its international release across its all five branches in the capital. The movie, which brought Tom Cruise to the role of Pete "Maverick" Mitchell after 36 years with the sequel to 1986's "Top Gun," has recently been screened at the 75th Cannes Film Festival on May 18 in an Official Selection Screening, where it received a five-minute standing ovation from the audience and Cannes paved a tribute to Cruise and his extraordinary career. On Friday, Bangladeshi audiences and Tom Cruise fans showed up in Star Cineplex’s Bashundhara City, Sony Square, SKS Tower, Shimanto Shambhar and the newly launched Bangabandhu Military Museum branches and praised the film. “I have been a fan of Cruise and the original ‘Top Gun’ movie and was waiting to watch its sequel once it hits the theatre. It feels good that we, the Bangladeshi audiences are also watching this film alongside the rest of the world on the same day,” Ashiqur Pial, a banker, told UNB after watching the film at the Sony Square branch of Star Cineplex in Mirpur. Before releasing it on Friday across all of its five branches, Star Cineplex held a special press screening of the film on Thursday night at its SKS Tower branch in Mohakhali in the capital for journalists, media personalities and celebrities. The advanced screening was joined by popular silver screen actor Riaz Ahmed, Taskeen Rahman, Sumon Patwary, director Taneem Rahman Angshu, youth celebrities and content creators including Salman Muqtadir, Shoumik Ahmed, Rakin Absar, Shouvik Ahmed and more.  Directed by Joseph Kosinski, ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ also has an ensemble cast featuring Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Glen Powell, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, Monica Barbaro, and Val Kilmer. Set 36 years after its prequel, the film recounts Maverick's return to the United States Navy Strike Fighter Tactics Instructor program (commonly known as "Top Gun"), where he must confront his past while training a cadre of younger fighter pilots, including the son of Maverick's closest buddy Goose. The film was initially scheduled for a July 2019 release, which was delayed by efforts to shoot several complex action sequences, then by the COVID-19 pandemic and scheduling conflicts. Since its release, the film is receiving positive reviews and critical acclaim for Cruise’s incredible stunts as a dashing fighter pilot. Also read: ‘Top Gun’ sequel a welcome trip to the danger zone

Bangladesh's first multiplex chain Star Cineplex will open its latest branch at Bangabandhu Military Museum Thursday. The branch – Star Cineplex's fifth in Dhaka – will screen movies with a single screen, Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, senior manager (media and marketing) at Star Cineplex, told UNB. It will run three shows at 11am, 1:40pm and 4:15pm, he added. Star Cineplex now has branches at Shimanto Shambhar (Dhanmondi), Sony Square (Mirpur), SKS Tower (Mohakhali) and Bashundhara City Shopping Mall (Panthapath). The popular cinema hall franchise is also preparing to open several other multiplexes outside Dhaka – namely, Chattogram, Cumilla and Bogura. To enthral Bangladeshi moviegoers with world-class amenities, Star Cineplex opened its first branch on October 6, 2004, as Bangladesh's first-ever multiplex at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall in Dhaka. Latest domestic and Hollywood films are regularly being screened at its citywide multiplexes. Also read: Star Cineplex to open its maiden theatre in Chattogram next year December 24, 2021

Quenching the thirst of movie buffs in Chattogram, the country's largest multiplex chain -- Star Cineplex -- will open its maiden theatre in the port city at Bali Arcade Shopping Complex in the Chawkbazar area. A memorandum of understanding (MoU) to this effect was signed at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel on Thursday evening. The agreement was signed by Mahboob Rahman Ruhel, chairman of Show Motion Limited, and Aftab Alam, chairman, The Casablanca Limited. At a press meet, it was informed that the multiplex is planned to be launched in the middle of next year (2022). This spacious multiplex will have three halls with seating arrangements for 400 moviegoers. READ: Documentary on Bangabandhu premiered at Star Cineplex The halls will be constructed following world-class cinema hall standards, including an aesthetic environment, state-of-the-art visuals on the giant screen, and high-quality Dolby sound systems, the organisers informed.  'We have already announced plans to build many cinema halls across the country. The work of implementing that plan has been continuously going on. This initiative will continue to expand the country's film industry, and it will enthral the movie lovers in Chittagong who expect a world-class multiplex like Star Cineplex,” Mahboob Rahman Ruhel, chairman of Star Cineplex, told reporters. Explaining the venture, Ruhel added, “I myself am from Chittagong, and many have asked me to open this branch as this is a long-standing demand of the movie lovers in Chittagong. I wanted to fulfil this demand a long ago but due to the pandemic and some other reasons, we could not open it earlier. So this marks a jovial occasion for me, personally.”  Bangladesh’s first multiplex cinema hall Star Cineplex was launched on October 6, 2004, at Bashundhara City Shopping Mall in the capital. Currently, Star Cineplex is operating four branches in Dhaka at Bashundhara City in Panthapath, Shimanto Shambhar in Dhanmondi, Sony Square in Mirpur and SKS Tower, Mohakhali.  "We had a plan to launch more than a hundred single screens inside our multiplexes, as part of our countrywide expansion masterplan. Due to the pandemic havoc, we had to compromise that plan, now having only 14 screens inside our four multiplexes; however, my dream is to fulfill that target as soon as possible,” Ruhel had told UNB earlier. READ: Star Cineplex to continue screening movies at Bashundhara City Outside Dhaka, two branches are under construction, at Bogura and Rajshahi.

The year 2020 will forever be remembered not only as the time of pandemic but also as the one with empty stadiums, galleries, concert halls, and movie theatres.