Consumer demand for cinemas draws renewed investment

On the heels of major revenues generated during 2005’s Lunar New Year Festival, movie theatres and film companies are moving to invest in cinema complexes nationwide to meet rising consumer demand.
The Galaxy cinema complex, worth some 20 billion dong, is set to begin screening films next month in HCM City, owned and operated by the Thien Ngan Film Studio.
The European-styled cinema includes 1,000 seats, a coffee bar, shops, and a beauty salon that covers a total area of 2000 square metres.
The venue is to debut movies made in Hollywood, China, and Europe, according to Ms Nguyen Minh Ngoc, director of the Galaxy Cinema, and should serve to ease the shortage of cinemas in HCM City, she added.
Besides, moviegoers in Ho Chi Minh frequent existing high-grade cinemas like the Diamond Cinema, Dong Da, and Cinebox, where business has seen a steady rise over the past three-years.
Increasing ticket prices have yet to deter audiences. Diamond Cinema’s ticket prices have gone from 30,000 to 50,000 dong on weekends, with seats having to be booked in advance.
Movie theatre mania
In Da Nang City, BHD Film Studio has joined hands with Song Han Cinema Co to build the Citizen Cinema Complex, with investment totalling 10 billion dong.
Citizen cinema is to open April 30, providing 260 seats, and a VIP zone, said director Nguyen Phan Quang Binh.
Meanwhile, the Vietnamese Phuong Nam Co and the British Envoy Media Co are preparing to kick off the construction of a series of Cineplex branded cinemas nationwide.
The capital investment for the project is US$16 million and the first cinema of the Cineplex series would be a US$4 million complex featuring 9 projection rooms, built by the end of 2005 in Hanoi.
One-month later, another complex complete with eight projection rooms would commence construction in Huong Vuong Plaza in HCM City.
A Korean company is also testing the waters with plans to build a major cinema complex at Big C Mien Dong Super Market in HCM City.
With a population of over 80 million, Vietnam is certain to see the erection of many more cinemas, drawing investment dollars into the sector, and promising fierce competition in the future.

 

Category: Business