The magic of Harry Potter and "The Lord of the Rings" may not be the only reason that people are returning to movie theaters.

Nonexistent in Japan just a decade ago, cinema complexes now account for more than half of the nation's screens and are credited with breathing life back into an industry pushed into the shadows by TV, home video and other forms of entertainment.

Virgin Cinemas Japan Ltd. expects a huge turnout when it lifts the curtain at its new Roppongi Hills cinema complex April 25. Roppongi Hills is one of the latest high-rise office-shopping mall complexes to open in Tokyo's Minato Ward.

The nine-screen showpiece facility can seat 2,100 moviegoers and will serve champagne and wine along with the ubiquitous popcorn and soft drinks.

In its premier screening room, which seats just 100, the operator -- part of the British concern that operates Virgin Airlines -- will offer the cinema equivalent of a first-class cabin.

Cinephiles with cash to burn -- tickets for the premier room cost 3,000 yen and include a glass of beer, wine or soft drink -- can enjoy spacious surroundings and reclining seats that come with a side table. Ticket holders are also granted access to a private lounge, where they can enjoy their preflick tipple.

Company spokeswoman Megumi Katsuura said conjuring up a luxury atmosphere is part of Virgin's "emotional branding" strategy, marketing speak for directly appealing to customers' sense of enjoyment and well-being.

But Virgin is a relative latecomer to Japan. Multinational operator Warner Mycal Corp. was the first to treat the nation to multiplex cinemas.

Warner Mycal, a joint venture between global media conglomerate AOL Time Warner Group and domestic supermarket chain Mycal Corp., opened Japan's first cinema complex in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, in 1993. Complexes of this kind were welcomed by domestic developers, which saw them as potential crowd magnets for suburban shopping malls.

Today, Warner Mycal operates 44 complexes and has 337 screens nationwide, racking up annual sales of some 40 billion yen. The firm plans to expand its chain to 60 sites and 500 screens by the end of 2008.

Unlike traditional single-screen cinemas in Japan, most of Warner Mycal's multiplexes are in suburban shopping malls, which feature ample parking space. It welcomed its 100 millionth customer in its 10th year of operations.

But in Japan, the suburbs have long been considered a box-office wasteland.

"People always associated a movie with a visit to the city, but lifestyles are changing," said Yoji Ikushima, senior managing director of Warner Mycal. "Retailers have long been aware of that, but people in the movie business were slow to catch on."

The firm claims to be the first to sensitize Japan to foreign cinema practices that have since become the norm.

At the snack bar, for example, it introduced the concept of selling freshly made popcorn with melted butter, while various discount schemes were established over at the ticket counter. On the first day of each month, adults can watch a movie for 1,000 yen, a comparative bargain in a country where tickets regularly cost 1,800 yen.

Women meanwhile can enjoy this discount every Wednesday, when it's "Ladies Day."

Cinema operators hope these strategies will boost ticket sales, which have been on the slide for more than 40 years.

The popularity of cinemas in Japan peaked in 1958, when 1.13 billion tickets were sold -- the equivalent of every Japanese in the country visiting the cinema more than a dozen times. In 1960, there were a record 7,457 screens nationwide.

But as TV and home video infiltrated the home, the number of movie screens across the nation began to fall. This figure hit rock bottom in 1993, when there were just 1,734 screens nationwide. Attendances hit their nadir in 1996, with just 119.6 million tickets sold.

The advent of cinema complexes helped reverse this trend. In 2001, the number of moviegoers topped 160 million for the first time in 15 years.

Domestic firms were quick to replicate the success of foreign operators' suburban cinema complexes.

Shochiku Multiplex Theatres Ltd., a subsidiary of movie company Shochiku Co., operates 10 sites with 93 screens. It hopes to double the size of its operations by 2007.

Kunikazu Hosaka, general manager of Shochiku Multiplex Theatres, said the majority of moviegoers are now to be found in the suburbs.

"We are surprised," he said.

Hosaka said his firm could not see the business viability of multiplex cinemas a decade ago.

"We could not understand the concept of putting many screens in one building," he said. "We wondered how they could make a profit by running seven to 10 screens."

But Masaharu Takahashi, executive managing director of Toho Co., believes the multiplex boom may soon lead to overcapacity.

Toho began building cinema complexes in May 1994. It now has 19 sites with 148 screens. In February, the firm announced it would acquire Virgin Cinemas Japan in an effort to further expand its market share.

Takahashi said he gets many calls from developers and consultants trying to lease space to cinema operators in upcoming shopping malls. But he cautions against optimism.

"I have been in the movie business for 20 years, and have seen the ups and downs," he said. "I don't think the boom will last forever."