04-002 Big screens in Hong Kong

04-002
Big screens in Hong Kong

When thinking of writing something new, it is always difficult to decide where to start from. As I have just written a whole chapter on my beloved cinematic universe, The Conjuring Universe, I decided to start from talking about cinemas in Hong Kong.

People in Hong Kong love watching movies. We were once the market lead of movie industry in Asia. Most east Asians grown up with Hong Kong movies. We even have our own “Avenue of Stars” in the city center, a local copycat of the “Hollywood Walk of Fame”. But in recent decades, movie industry of Hong Kong declined and was taken over by others, such as mainland China, Korea and Japan.

Warriors of Future, Hong Kong's Marvel.
At the time of writing, this movie is a great hit here.
Image Source: Wikipedia

Same happened to movie theatres. The number of cinemas started to decline after the 90s. With the advance in technology, there are more options on entertainment today than before. The increasing popularity of cable TV, or more recently streaming, together with the “help” of DVD and bootlegs, many people turned away from movie theatres to their bedrooms.

Back in the mid-90s, we had more than a hundred cinemas within the territory. Number dropped to below 50 in 2013. Now, it seems better. With the opening of some small cinemas in local residential areas, at the time of writing (Sep/2022), there are 62 commercial cinemas in Hong Kong, with 295 screens and over 42000 seats.

Commercial cinemas in Hong Kong compose of 10 cinema circuits and several independent cinemas. Below I will list them out one by one.

As the number of cinemas keeps changing from time to time, this page will not be updated very often. I put link of the cinemas below. Kindly check with their official websites for the latest information.

Multiplex Cinemas, or MCL
https://www.mclcinema.com/Index.aspx?visLang=2

After taken up some of the ex-UA cinemas in 2021, MCL becomes the largest Cinema Circuit in Hong Kong. It operates 15 cinemas in total, which counts up to almost 25% of the market share in Hong Kong. Below is the list:

Broadway Circuit
https://www.cinema.com.hk/en

The second largest cinema circuit here is Broadway. It operates 13 cinemas in total and counts up to 21% of market shares. Below is the list:

Golden Harvest
https://www.goldenharvest.com/

Golden Harvest is the second runners-up which operates 10 cinemas in the territory. But Golden Harvest is actually a big company. It is a movie producer and a listed company in Hong Kong. It also operates cinemas in mainland China and overseas. Below is the list:

Emperor Cinemas
https://www.emperorcinemas.com/en

Emperor is a new player in the market with its first cinema only opened in 2017. Its mother company Emperor Entertainment is however one of the biggest movie producers in Hong Kong. Their tickets are usually more expensive than others and target high end customers. It now owns 7 cinemas. Below is the list:

Cinema City
https://www.cinemacity.com.hk/en/home

Similar to Golden Harvest and Emperor, Cinema City is also operated by movie producer. The first cinema opens in 2014 in Mong Kok. Now, it operates a total of 5 cinemas and counts up to 8% of the market share. Below is the list:

Newport Circuit
https://www.theatre.com.hk/en

Established in 1988, Newport is one of the oldest cinema circuit in Hong Kong. It now operates 3 cinemas in the city center. Below is the list:

CineArt House
https://cineart.cityline.com/eng/home

In contrast to Emperor Cinemas, CineArt House targets to low end customer. CineArt is well known of its cheap ticket price and showing mainly no frills 2D movies. It now operates 2 cinemas here. Below is the list:

CGV Cinemas
https://cgv.com.hk/en

Although not very large in Hong Kong, CGV is the largest cinema circuit in Korea. After taken over the operating of Lux Theatre in 2010, CGV set foot on Hong Kong market. It now operates 2 cinemas here. Below is the list:

ACX Cinemas
https://www.acx-cinemas.com/

In 2021, we saw a new cinema circuit opened its first cinema in Hong Kong. ACX now operates only 1 cinema but has an ambition to expand rapidly. Watch out!

Chinachem Cinema Circuit
https://www.cel-cinemas.com/en

Chinachem used to operate 6 cinemas in Hong Kong. But due to fierce competition, its network shrank and now only 1 cinema remains.

Independent commercial cinemas

Apart from those big, or not so big anymore, cinema circuits, there are 3 independent cinemas operating in Hong Kong. They are Golden Scene Cinema in Kennedy Town, Lumen Cinema in Shek Lei and Sun Digital in North Point. Here used to have more independent cinemas. But owning to the pandemic, some were closed down or being taken over by those big circuits. Now, independent cinema only counts up to less than 5% of the market share.

Cinemas that are special

Most of the commercial cinemas in Hong Kong are located in large shopping malls and well connected with public transport. However, people criticize our cinemas being too ordinary, with not much differences between individual cinema circuits. However, there are still several cinema that worth mentioning.

Grand Ocean, Golden Harvest

Grand Ocean
Image Source: Wikipedia

If you like old school cinema with only 1 screen and a big hall seating together with more than 400 other audiences, watching the same movie, Golden Harvest’s Grand Ocean is worth visiting. Most of the big theatres in Hong Kong have been renovated into several smaller halls. Grand Ocean is the only one that is still grand. It is also the oldest surviving movie theatre in Hong Kong, opened in 1969.

LUX Theatre, CJ CGV

Old ticketing system in LUX cinema
Image Source: Wikipedia

Talking about old school, LUX is definitely worth mentioning. After taken over by CJ CGV of Korea, LUX underwent a major renovation and is now equipped with all modern facilities, except one. Its traditional manual ticketing system is retained. You can still see the ticket agent marking your seat on a big piece of paper form seating plan with color pencil. Only show time is printed on the ticket, not the movie name. And the seat number is hand written. LUX is also the only cinema in Hong Kong that you cannot buy ticket online.

Cinematheque, Broadway Circuit

Cinematheque
Image Source: Wikipedia

Not in a very convenience location, Cinematheque of Broadway Circuit still managed to attract movie watchers simply because of one thing. It is a cinema dedicated in showing non-mainline movies. If you like Italian, German, French, Argentina or Iranian movies, this is the place to go.

Sun Digital

Sunbeam Theatre
Image Source: Wikipedia

Used to be the balcony of the Sunbeam Theatre, this part was separated from the main auditorium, fitted with a separate screen and rebranded as Sun Digital. The main auditorium now focuses on live performance, mainly Chinese opera, while Sun Digital operated as an ordinary cinema. Wanted to find a seat in the one of the oldest movie theatre in Hong Kong but not being bored by Chinese operas, Sun Digital is the place to go.

Non-commercial cinemas

Apart from commercial cinemas, there are several (4) cinemas operated by the government or government funded organizations.

Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema

Hong Kong Film Archive
Image Source: Wikipedia

Operated by The Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD), Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema is a minor cinema located inside the Hong Kong Film Archive. Although only fitted with 129 seats, it is a fully functional cinema. Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema mainly shows classic movies, with occasional screening of movies from different film festivals. Due to the pandemic and its relatively inconvenience location, the cinema only screens on weekends.

Space Theatre

Hong Kong Space Museum
Image Source: Wikipedia

Also operated by LCSD, Space Theatre is located inside Hong Kong Space Museum. Its special 23-metre-diameter dome screen is designated for screening of Sky Shows, OMNIMAX and 3D Dome Shows. In contrast to Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema, Space Theatre is very popular and advance booking is a must, especially during weekends.

M+ Cinema

M+ Museum
Image Source: Wikipedia

Operated by the government subsidized West Kowloon Cultural District Authority, M+ Cinema is a new cinema located inside M+ Museum. It consists of 3 halls, mainly focus on showing art films and classic movies.

Louis Koo Cinema

Louis Koo Cinema

Located at the basement of Hong Kong Arts Centre, Louis Koo Cinema is a small cinema dedicated for showing art films. The cinema is run by non-profit organization the Hong Kong Arts Center. Fitted with only 119 seats, Louis Koo Cinema is a fully functional cinema with regular screening.

Anywhere else?

Apart from regular cinemas, several venues in Hong Kong are fitted with screening equipment. Places like Hong Kong City Hall Auditorium, Kwai Tsing Theatre Auditorium, Hong Kong Science Museum Lecture Hall, & Hong Kong Space Museum Lecture Hall are popular screening locations. Private organizations also host screening activities in different venues, such as in schools, churches, pubs, party rooms or even outdoor.

Follow the link below for the latest information of public screening in Hong Kong:

https://www.eventbrite.hk/d/hong-kong-sar--hong-kong/screenings/

Ticketing

Except LUX Theatre, all other commercial cinemas offer online ticketing service, either through their own websites or through a third party ticketing system. Links are provided above. You can also check which movies we are currently showing and the ticket price.

Ticket for LCSD venues (Hong Kong Film Archive Cinema, Space Theatre & others) can be purchased through Urbtix. M+ Cinema also has its own online ticketing system. Tickets for Louis Koo Cinema can be purchased through various third party ticketing system.

That is all I want to say. In the next post, I will start talking about the small screens in Hong Kong.

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