Hong Kong’s Newport Theatre has announced it will shut its doors on April 1 after 20 years of operation, the latest sign that a weak box office performance continues to plague the city’s cinema sector.
Newport Circuit, the operator of Newport Theatre in Mong Kok, announced the closure on Facebook on Monday night, citing “changes in the market environment and operational adjustments.”
Last year, nine local cinemas closed as overall box office receipts in Hong Kong marked the weakest performance since 2011, according to figures compiled by Hong Kong Box Office Limited.
Total box office income amounted to HK$1.3 billion in 2024 – down 6.2 per cent from 2023, Hong Kong Box Office Limited said in January.
Newport Theatre, which opened in 2005, will continue screening films until March 31, according to the cinema’s Facebook announcement.
“We appreciate the support and love from the audience over the years. Newport Theatre shall live on in our memories,” Newport Circuit said in the Chinese-language announcement.
Newport Theatre is one of the last two cinemas operated by Newport Circuit, after the curtain fell on the 58-year-old President Theatre in Causeway Bay last April, which drew hundreds of movie lovers to pay tribute.
Hyland Theatre in Tuen Mun will be the company’s last cinema.
According to Newport Circuit’s Facebook page, the company was established in 1988 “during the flourishing media and entertainment industry.”
See also: Could box-office record breaker ‘The Last Dance’ signal a new dawn for Hong Kong cinema?
Hong Kong’s cinema sector struggles to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic as residents increasingly seek out entertainment options in neighbouring Shenzhen and other mainland Chinese cities.
But there are signs that local film productions have found a larger audience, with the 2024 drama The Last Dance grossing over HK$158 million in the first two months of its release, breaking box office records.
