Hong Kong box office gets Christmas boost, but industry warns of bleak outlook
Holiday earnings coincide with Golden Harvest’s announcement that it is temporarily closing its GH V Walk cinema in Nam Cheong
Hong Kong’s Christmas holiday box office revenue rose almost 7 per cent, rebounding from a 20-year low recorded last year, amid reports of yet another possible cinema closure in the city.
Box office earnings from Christmas Eve to Boxing Day reached about HK$20.9 million (US$2.7 million), up from HK$19.6 million for the same period last year, according to the Hong Kong Theatres Association and Hong Kong Motion Picture Industry Association.
But industry groups said on Friday that this year’s earnings represented a 36 per cent drop compared with the revenue in 2022 of HK$32.8 million.
“This shows that the operating environment of Hong Kong cinemas continues to be difficult,” the industry groups said.
The revenue figures were released as Hong Kong cinema chain Golden Harvest announced the “temporary closure” of its Nam Cheong branch, prompting concerns it might become the city’s eighth film theatre to close down this year.
The GH V Walk cinema, located in a shopping centre in Nam Cheong in Sham Shui Po, suspended operations from Friday. Golden Harvest said on its website and Facebook page the branch was “temporarily closed”.
