Cinema players set out expansion plans
Movie theatre operators Major Cineplex Group Plc and SF Corporation Plc have vowed to resume their active business plans to capitalise on a resurgence in the film market this year.
Narute Jiensnong, chief marketing officer at Major Cineplex, said the company planned to open 10 new branches with 40-50 screens in Bangkok and other locations across the country.
The company currently operates 181 movie theatres with 846 screens. Of the total, 172 branches are in Thailand and nine are overseas.
Major Cineplex is scheduled to open a new cinema at Central WestVille in the second half of this year.
Apart from expanding its branch network, the company is continuing to invest in technology to enhance the movie-watching experience for consumers.
The company will open the i-Tail pet cinema on June 10 at three branches: Mega Cineplex, EastVille Cineplex and Major Cinema Robinson Ratchaphruek.
“The movie business has shown remarkable recovery in the first five months of this year, reaching 70% of the pre-crisis level and 85% in May alone. The company is optimistic that the industry will fully recover next year to the levels observed in 2019 when a total of 40 million movie tickets were sold in Thailand. Major Cineplex expects the number of movie productions in 2024 to return to the levels seen in 2019,” said Mr Narute, adding that the total number of new movies to be launched to the market is expected to increase by 30% over last year.
“All big box-office movies screened at our cinemas in the first five months of this year can make sales of 300-500 million baht per title, on a par with what used to happen before the pandemic. This reflects the rebound of the movie industry,” Mr Narute said.
In a separate development, Pimsiri Thongrompo, marketing director at SF Corporation, said the movie industry has regained its momentum, which was evident from the success of several films screened during the first five months of this year. This proved that cinemas remained the best venue for moviewatching experiences, she said.
In a move to capitalise on the domestic movie market’s recovery, SF plans to launch new advertising campaigns on June 1, through online and TV commercials. The company has chosen popular personalities Tawan “Tay” Vihokrattana, Korapat “Nanon” Kirdpan, Norawit “Gemini” Titicharoenrak, and Nattawat “Fourth” Jirochtikul as presenters to engage with SF customers and participate in various activities.
In addition to movies, SF Corporation aims to provide customers with diverse content, ranging from big blockbuster movies to special content featuring K-pop and T-pop artists, catering to various customer lifestyles.
SF Corporation also plans to increase the number of Zigma Cinestadium Presented by C2 branches to 20 next year, from the current eight.
Moreover, it will open “The Bed Cinema by Omazz” at SFX Cinema Central Lat Phrao this year.
The company is also collaborating with partners to introduce new food and beverage offerings.
Lastly, SF Corporation has introduced the new SF Plus card, offering discounted prices for kids and students starting at only 69 baht, and 79 baht for senior citizens, making movie-watching more accessible to a wider audience.