WE Cinemas Clementi to be taken over by Cathay on 1 Nov amid ‘resurgence’ in cinema business

WE Cinemas Clementi to be renamed Cathay Cineplexes Clementi 321

WE Cinemas, the only cineplex in Clementi, will be taken over by Cathay Cineplexes from 1 Nov.

In a joint statement quoted by Channel NewsAsia (CNA), mm2 Asia and Eng Wah Global said the cinema will remain open under the new name of Cathay Cineplexes Clementi 321.

Cinema business has seen ‘resurgence’ recently: mm2

mm2, which bought the Cathay brand in 2017, said the recovery of the cinema business was “taking longer than expected” since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Recently, though, the business has seen a resurgence at the box office, as well as acquisitions, joint ventures and cinema improvement plans in the United States, China and Southeast Asia, it added.

Thus, Cathay’s acquisition of WE Cinemas Clementi shows mm2’s “continued confidence in the cinema business and our steadfast belief that blockbusters will return to our screens soon”.

‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, the only Marvel movie to be released this year, was notably not shown at Cathay, with the company describing it as a “business decision”.

Cathay had been ‘rightsizing’: mm2

Cathay shut down in AMK Hub cinema in June, the chain’s fourth theatre to close in the past two years.

This left Cathay with five remaining outlets in Singapore — in Causeway Point, Century Square, Downtown East, Jem and West Mall.

mm2 Executive Chairman Melvin Ang acknowledged that the company had been “rightsizing” in previous years, with the closure of two cinemas in Orchard and one in Parkway Parade.

The AMK Hub was also shuttered as “the space was to be redesignated for other uses”, he said, adding:

This inevitably raised concerns and doubts about our abilities to continue the cinema business.

Cathay hoping to add more outlets

Happily, the rightsizing has gone well, with the company’s current structure placing it in “a much better position” for when business rebounds, expected to be “not long from now”.

Cathay opened at Century Square in November 2023, and will have a total of six outlets with the addition of Cathay Cineplexes Clementi 321.

Mr Ang was also hoping to add more outlets as the rest of the recovery is being montiored.

mm2 is carrying out similar rightsizing in Malaysia, where it operates several cinemas.

WE Cinemas Clementi operated for 9 years before Cathay takeover

WE Cinemas Clementi opened in June 2015 with 10 halls and 746 seats, said Eng Wah Global, which owns WE Cinemas.

Before that, the building at 321 Clementi Avenue 3 had housed Empress Cineplex, an old-school cinema with three halls and paper-based tickets until it closed for redevelopment in 2006.

Mr Ang said that the building is “well located in the heart of Clementi” and is the “nearest to town” among all its currently operating cinemas.

Eng Wah Global’s Managing Director Goh Min Yen said the company is “committed to supporting the new management for the transition”.

She did not mention whether the company was remaining in the cinema business after selling its only theatre in Singapore.

Also read: Cathay AMK Hub Moviegoers Bring TOYOGO Containers, Buckets & Huge Basins To Redeem Popcorn

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