Adelyn Lau
MCL Cinemas Plus+ at Plaza Hollywood in Diamond Hill has shut down after two years of operations, marking the seventh movie house to close in Hong Kong this year.
The closure yesterday followed that of MCL's South Horizons, which ended operations in August when its lease expired.
MCL still has 15 other locations, including K11 Art House in Tsim Sha Tsui, Metro City in Tseung Kwan O and Citygate in Tung Chung.
Staff had confirmed the cinema in Diamond Hill would no longer operate from today, expressing disappointment that the cinema had only been open for two years before the "hasty" closure.
They admitted to receiving notification just two days ago. They said they might be reassigned to other locations and that the cinema could be taken over by another chain.
Many moviegoers went to Plaza Hollywood to purchase tickets yesterday, oblivious to the closure.
A nearby resident, Yang, expressed regret. He said he visits cinemas only for special films.
"If this place closes down, there will be fewer and fewer cinemas in Hong Kong," Yang stressed.
But he vowed to support local movie theaters even more in the future.
MCL Cinemas Plus+ at Plaza Hollywood, which began operation in July 2022, covered an area of 38,000 square feet, with six screens and around 1,595 seats.
The five other theaters that closed this year were CineArt House in Kowloon City Plaza, Golden Harvest Kai Tak, President Theatre in Causeway Bay, Metroplex in Kowloon Bay and Cinema City in Mong Kok Langham Place.
Separately, homegrown film The Last Dance, starring actor and stand-up comedian Dayo Wong Tsz-wah, 64, has gained profound popularity among Hongkongers.
It prompted multiple showings, with screenings every 15 minutes on weekends at K11 Art House, as web users jokingly said it was "more frequent than bus services."
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