ROLL the end credits – beleaguered cinema chain Cathay Cineplexes is closing its West Mall outlet on Thursday (Feb 20), the same day its lease at the Bukit Batok shopping complex expires.
The closure aligns with its strategy to “optimise its operational footprint”, said mainboard-listed media company mm2 Asia, which operates the cinema chain, in a Monday night bourse filing.
The group added that Cathay Cineplexes has been undergoing the said post-Covid rightsizing exercise for the past two years, and that the West Mall cinema will close for reinstatement works.
The five-storey West Mall is owned by property developer Singapore Land Group.
“Cathay Cineplexes thanks all patrons of its West Mall cinema for their support and looks forward to welcoming moviegoers at its other locations in Singapore,” said the release.
As at Tuesday 9pm, a dozen movies were still listed for screening at the West Mall cinema on Wednesday and/or Thursday on the Cathay Cineplexes website.
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The cinema chain has five other existing outlets – Causeway Point at Woodlands, Downtown East at Pasir Ris, JEM at Jurong East, Century Square at Tampines and Clementi 321.
The notice added that Cathay Cineplexes will continue to offer “special promotions and enhanced movie experiences” for all its patrons.
The cinema chain has been running a Save our Screens scheme that sells a coupon set – the combo is priced at S$100 but described as worth up to S$223 – comprising 10 vouchers. Each entitles the patron to one standard movie ticket, one tub of popcorn and one bottled drinking water at any of its Singapore outlets.
Rewind the tape
Earlier in February, mm2 Asia revealed that Cathay Cineplexes received letters of demand from the landlords of two of its cinemas for about S$2.7 million in alleged rent, legal costs and other monies owed.
The landlords of Cathay Cineplexes’ Century Square outlet had asked for payment of a total of S$479,185.74 in rental arrears and other monies, as well as S$893.80 in legal costs by Feb 10.
Separately, the landlord of its Causeway Point outlet asked for the sum of S$1 million to be paid to its trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services, by Feb 3, and S$1,203,677.85 by Feb 10.
The sum comprises rental arrears and other monies.
Cathay Cineplexes must also pay the landlord S$555.90 in legal fees.
Both properties are owned by Frasers Centrepoint Trust.
A later bourse filing noted that the S$2.7 million sum represents a quarter of the total payment it owed between Apr 1, 2020, and Jan 31, 2025. S$12 million in rent owed to the landlords had been paid back.
The Singapore Exchange had asked why the costs owed have not been paid back to the respective landlords despite mm2 Asia having reported S$10.1 million in cash and cash equivalents in its results for the first half of the year.
In response, the group said that it allocated and deployed a portion of the monies for use in its other businesses.
The company added that the S$10.1 million in cash and cash equivalents were not restricted or encumbered in any way, and that the amounts were not being disputed by the cinema chain.
