In the style of some of the old-style erotica theaters of Italy and Spain, the independent movie theater, called the Contempo Cinema, will be located in the Zona Rosa in Mexico City and will contain two screens, one with 198 seats and the other with 208, investors announced Tuesday.
The Contempo will also offer porn patrons a bar, restaurant and video store specializing in softcore films. The start-up cost for the venture is estimated at around $300,000.
"This is an idea I've had in mind for many years," says Jorge Luis Novo, one of the lead investors. "I've always felt that erotic cinema is an underexploited niche, while in countries like Italy it is a thorough success."
Novo comes from a film distribution background, and he and investors plan to launch a chain of similar porn movie theaters throughout Mexico if the venture proves successful.
At present, plans for theater viewings will be relegated to softcore porn and erotica, steering clear of any hardcore content, Novo said. There will also be surveillance cameras installed in each theater to make sure that patrons behave themselves. Patrons will be required to show proof that they are over 18 years before being admitted, Novo said.
Novo and partners define the difference between porn and softcore porn as being one medium that uses film actors and another medium that uses porn stars, who, according to one of the investors, "aren't necessarily actors."
For the time being, the Contempo will showcase films that in the U.S. are considered mainstream like "Last Tango in Paris" and "Wild Orchid," before moving on to indie, softcore films like "Exxxorcismos," a gay erotic film by Jaime Humberto Hermosillo.
The Contempo Cinema will open in the coming weeks for midday to late night showings.
