Do you prefer watching movies while tucked snugly under the comforter on your own bed? If so, Ikea’s latest stunt is right up your alley. Ikea partnered with a movie theater in the Russian town of Khimki to transform an entire theater into a great place to catch a nap during a boring film. After removing more than 100 theater seats from the theater, Ikea’s production team moved in more than 15 large beds and started building mini bedroom sets within the theater. In addition to full bed sets with bedding, Ikea also included other bedroom items like lamps over each bed as well as decorative throw pillows.
Of course, unsuspecting movie patrons had no idea that Ikea had transformed the theater until they entered the room. As seen within the promotional video, moviegoers were delighted to find the transformed theater and be ushered to a specific bed within the theater. Of course, this type of unique setup was likely more work for the movie theater staff. They would have had to change the sheets between showings and likely washed the bedding to remove spilled snacks as well as any other messes left by patrons.
This entertaining stunt ran for approximately ten days and just finished up on December 14. It’s likely that the theater is being transformed back to normal today. Ikea has not announced any plans to run a similar promotion within the United States or any other country in the world.
Of course, this isn’t the first time a theater chain has attempted to provide a more comfortable seating option for patrons. During 2012, Malaysia’s TGV Cinemas started transforming some theaters by replacing old theater seats with giant, two-seat beanbags. Some theaters in the U.S. are also prioritizing comfort at a premium price, usually in the form of plush, reclining theater seats with side tables for snacks and drinks.