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Jiang Chuqin

Film-goers have gathered to bid farewell to a cinema in Kowloon City, the sixth to shut its doors in Hong Kong this year, with the cinema giving out free tickets for three film screenings to thank customers.
Patrons who showed up at Cine-Art House on Monday, its last day of operations, took pictures before and after screenings and expressed regret over the closure of the outlet at Kowloon City Plaza shopping centre.
Among them was student Chiu Shing-hei, 16, who said he went to the cinema frequently, to hang out with family during weekends and with friends after school.
“After I went to secondary school, my friends and I sometimes came here to watch the latest movie,” said the student, adding that he also used to watch movies there with his mother after shopping at the plaza.
He also said he preferred the cinema because its prices were HK$30 (US$3.84) to $40 cheaper per ticket than other theatres.
Huang Ye, who has lived in the neighbourhood since her son was born 10 years ago, also said she appreciated Cine-Art House’s cheap ticket prices and convenient location.
“I was surprised and shocked by the news. I watch films here three to four times a month because it’s the closest cinema to my home,” she said.
Located on the first floor of Kowloon City Plaza, the cinema opened in December 2019, not long before the outbreak of the pandemic.
It was originally a neighbourhood theatre set up by the Kowloon City residents’ association and was taken over by UA Cinemas in 1996 for almost 10 years.
The cinema gave out 140 free tickets for three films on Monday night before shutting its doors permanently.
The most popular movie was Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, with tickets sold out for both the evening screenings at 7pm and 7.30pm.

The film is inspired by and set in the iconic and notorious Kowloon Walled City, now torn down but once located in the same neighbourhood as the cinema.
The movie starring Louis Koo Tin-lok has broken local box office records with about 1.6 million views as of June and is this year’s highest-grossing film so far having raked in HK$115 million.
Jean Cho Yee-tak, a 36-year-old teacher who bought a ticket for the movie, did not know the cinema was about to close.
She said she often went to cinemas when she was a student, reminiscing about the days she would find out about showtimes and ticket prices in newspapers and leaflets.
“I don’t really go to cinemas nowadays,” said Cho, adding she once had dreams of becoming a filmmaker herself.
“There are other streaming platforms for films. So I will go to the cinema if it’s a particularly good one like Twilight of the Warriors or if it is only available there.”
Last Tuesday, Cine-Art House said its Kowloon City branch would operate until Monday when its current lease came to an end. It called on residents to support its two remaining branches in Tsing Yi and Causeway Bay.
The Kowloon City cinema is the sixth cinema to announce its permanent closure this year, following the President Theatre in Causeway Bay and Golden Harvest’s GH Kai Tak in April.
Hong Kong’s total box office earnings for the first half of 2024 was about HK$640 million, a drop of more than 17 per cent year on year, according to latest data from Hong Kong Box Office Limited.
Total annual box office receipts reached their peak in 2015 at HK$1.99 billion. During the Covid-19 pandemic, the figures were HK$540 million, HK$1.21 billion and HK$1.14 billion in 2020, 2021 and 2022 respectively.
That numbers did not bounce back as expected in 2023, with a total revenue of HK$1.43 billion, a regression to earnings in 2011.


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Hongkongers bid farewell to Cine-Art House, sixth cinema to close down this year

The Cine-Art House will shut its doors permanently on Monday. Photo: Dickson Lee

The Cine-Art House has given out 140 free tickets for three films to thanks its audience. Photo: May Tse

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GH Kai Tak, located at Yue Xiu Plaza in San Po Kong, closed in April. Photo: Handout

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The company says the last day for the Kowloon City Plaza outlet will be August 26. Photo: May Tse

A still from box-office smash “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In”. Photo: Entertaining Power Co Limited

News

Hong Kong

Cinema in Kowloon City Plaza gives out free tickets for three of its final screenings, as customers express sadness at its closure


Cinema in Kowloon City Plaza gives out free tickets for three of its final screenings, as customers express sadness at its closure.


Hong Kong society