Major Cineplex plans 200 new screens in 3 yrs

“With the expansion, we want to grow our cinema business by 10-15 per cent annually over the next three years,” chairman Vicha Poolvaraluck said yesterday.
Its screens will increase from nearly 400 expected by this year-end to about 600 in the period, at an average cost of Bt10 million per screen.
Major will open about 50 screens next year, including at Mega Bangna and Seacon Square 2 in Bangkok.
Vicha said earlier that the flooding forced the temporary shutdown of 12 cinemas, affecting 103 of its more than 380 screens. They included three standalone cineplexes – Major Pinklao, Ratcha-yothin and Rangsit.
The company posted 45-per-cent growth in admissions year on year in the first 10 days of this month.
“Thanks to the strong line-up of movies, we expect total ticket sales to increase dramatically by 40 per cent in December alone,” he said. “Despite the floods, we also expect our ticket sales to increase significantly by 20 per cent for the full year. Actual growth will be better than the target set at 10-15 per cent for this year.”
The recent floods did no physical damage to the cinemas – they just blocked movie-goers from coming in. Many films had to be postponed.
Asia will become a centre of growth for the global cinema industry with strong expansion in high-potential markets such as China and Malaysia, Vicha said.

CHINA
“About 3,000 cinemas will be opened in China alone next year, bringing the number of screens there to 10,000. In Malaysia, about 100 cinemas will be added next year, to bring the total to about 700,” he said.
In Thailand, 2012 will be another strong year thanks to a strong schedule of Hollywood blockbusters and Thai films, including “King Naresuan 5”, “Tom Yum Goong 2”, “Batman: The Dark Knight Rises”, “James Bond: Skyfall” and “The Amazing Spider-Man”, he said.
All major US film producers have turned their focus to international markets, which now represent about 65 per cent of revenue, he added.