CINEMA TRENDS

Mr Peter Sung asked the Minister for Information and the Arts whether he is aware of any trends in the number of cinema seats and whether he is able to ascribe any reasons for such changes.

BG George Yong-Boon Yeo: Trend in Seating Capacity

Following the trend in developed countries, many of our existing cinemas with seating capacity of about 1,000 have been converted into cineplexes with multiple halls, each with seating capacity of 300-400. In new cineplexes, seating capacity is even smaller, from 200 to 300 seats.

Smaller cineplex cinemas are more economical to operate. There is better utilisation of seating capacity with minimal empty seats for each screening. Overall, less manpower is required because of the sharing of overheads for film projection, ticketing and F&B sales. As cineplexes are typically located in shopping complexes with food/shopping outlets, they cater to the whole family, offering a choice of films for both adults and children. Because operating costs per film are reduced, it is more profitable to operate cineplexes instead of single-hall cinemas.

From 1990 to 1994, the number of single-hall cinemas decreased from 33 to 19. The number of cineplexes increased from 11 to 27. The total number of cinema seats increased from 46,737 to 51,234 between 1990 and 1994. Cinema attendance did not, however, show a corresponding increase. Last year, because of a decline in the availability of good Mandarin movies, cinema attendance declined from 22 million in 1993 to 17 million. Statistics of cinema halls, seats and attendance from 1990 to 1994 is at Annex (Cols. 1567 - 1568). Although the number of cinema seats has been increasing, there is no indication that cinema attendance has been influenced by the introduction of R/A film ratings in September 1991. Annex - STATISTICS OF CINEMA HALLS (SINGLE VS CINEPLEX), SEATS AND ATTENDANCE FROM 1990 TO 1994 (Cols. 1567 - 1568)