Two previously closed cinemas will be reopened by a Hungarian-owned company, which believes they could continue operating once undergoing a few changes, reports Napi.hu (subscriber only).
Nagykanizsa’s cinema located at the Kanizsa Plaza mall was closed in March 2007 and the cinema at Budapest’s Csepel Plaza was closed last month. Artmoszféra Kft will reopen both and operate them with fewer screens, while better adjusting to local demands, said Tamás Czira, manager of Nagykanizsa’s cinema.
The cinema at Csepel Plaza belonged to the Cinema City network, while the Nagykanizsa cinema was operated by Palace Cinemas. Results at both were below expectations, which is why the companies withdrew.
The new operator signed a five-year-renting contract with the owners of the cinemas. The Csepel cinema will operate with three screens instead of the previous seven, and perhaps one more if demand is high enough. The Nagykanizsa cinema will first open only the largest, 210-seat auditorium, and soon thereafter another smaller one. At both cinemas, an art movie will be screened at least once per day.
Czira said that in a year or two’s time, they’ll know if their approach works. The company is not thinking about taking over other cinemas for now.