ARTICLE
It's time to say goodbye to The Cathay Cineplex at Handy Road
By InCinemas / 17 Jun 2022 (Friday)
Cathay Cineplexes announced that it will cease operations at its Handy Road outlet after 26 June 2022, as part of the cost rationalization for its cinema operations.
The Handy Road outlet is one of eight Cathay Cineplexes in Singapore, and is located at The Cathay, 2 Handy Road Singapore 229233. The last screening will be held on Sunday night 26 June 2022.
Mr. Chang Long Jong, Group CEO for mm2 Asia said:
The cinema’s closure was a business decision. Over the years, retail traffic demographics have changed. We have had to evaluate the commercial viability of operating two cinemas in the Orchard shopping belt within 1.5km of each other and within 300m of another multiplex.
It will be business as usual at our other Cathay Cineplexes outlets in Singapore, and the cinema exhibition business remains a key part of our Group’s overall business strategy. Business for the cinemas has picked up significantly since the relaxing of Covid-19 restrictions, and we are actively exploring new cinema innovations that incorporate concepts for live house, esports, as well as other offerings and locations, which we hope to be able to share more soon.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank our cinema patrons, studio partners and suppliers for their continued support. And we look forward to continuing to serve you at our Cathay Cineplexes locations across Singapore.
The Covid-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on the region’s cinema industry, as cinemas were closed for several months, then required to operate at reduced capacities. In addition, movies scheduled to be released since mid-March 2020 were postponed or cancelled around the world, with film production also halted. However, as society transitions to an endemic Covid-19 strategy, the cinema business has rebounded, almost to pre-Covid levels. In December 2021, Spider-Man: No Way Home broke box office records by becoming the 3rd highest grossing film ever to be released in Singapore. As of 26 April 2022, all capacity limits for cinemas have been removed.
mm2 Asia acquired Cathay Cineplexes in Singapore in November 2017, becoming the only cinema operator present in both Malaysia and Singapore. The Group presently operates eight locations in Singapore under Cathay Cineplexes and twelve locations in Malaysia under the mmCineplexes brand.