TIJUANA -- Those 3D films are so yesterday. This region's first 4DX movie theater opened over the weekend that uses special effects to make viewers feel like they are literally in the middle of the action.

The so-called 4DX entertainment system combines 3D film with special effects in the theater that are synchronized to the movie.

Only a handful of theaters offer it across the world, none yet in the United States. On Friday, the Cinépolis movie house in the Río zone inaugurated a 4DX screen, one of several the company has across Mexico enabled with this technology.

The theater has 240 seats grouped into sets of four. Special equipment was integrated into each seat that not only vibrates it but creates fog, wind, bubbles, water spray and even smells that surround the moviegoer, all keyed to the action on the screen.

"We're always looking for ways to make the experience of going to the movies different," said Luis Villavicencio, the company's brand director at the opening.

Only a few movies have been adapted to use this system, which was pioneered in South Korea. One of them is "Avatar," which is what's showing at the Río zone theater.

A ticket price for this movie is 159 pesos ($13). Children must be accompanied by their parents, and none under age four is permitted. The company warns that people with heart ailments, physical disabilities or women who are pregnant should not see films using this system.

Cinépolis is the fourth largest movie chain in the world, with 2,637 screens across Latin America and India. In Tijuana, its theater complex is located in Plaza Río on Paseo de los Heroes.

The company opened Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Del Mar in San Diego last summer, its first in the United States. The theater offers such amenities as plush seating and food delivered to each moviegoer, for a tickets ranging from $20 to $23.

andrea.garcia@sandiegored.com