- Tickets for HK$30 each are being sold by 63 theatres; businesses expect nearly full houses
- Cinema websites had up to 18,000 in the queue; staff member says the number is about 30% bigger than on typical days
People queue up to buy movie tickets outside a cinema in Kornhill Plaza. Photo: May TseHongkongers lined up to purchase film tickets at heavy discounts on Wednesday for Cinema Day this weekend. At least one business said it expects nearly full houses for the event.
Sixty-three cinemas, including ones owned by Emperor Cinemas, MCL, Golden Harvest and Broadway Cinemas, were selling tickets for HK$30 (US$3.83) each.
Tickets for the Sunday event, organised by the Hong Kong Theatres Association, were released at noon.
Checks by the SCMP found congested access at a variety of cinema websites at 12.30pm on Wednesday, including a 25-hour wait to connect to Broadway Circuit, which had more than 18,000 people in the queue.
Emperor Cinemas showed almost 14,000 people in their queue.
About two dozen people were queuing to buy tickets at Grand Kornhill Cinema in Quarry Bay at 11.30am – half an hour before tickets were released.
Among the crowd was Vikki Au, a tutor, who said she planned on buying tickets for herself and her family to see Arthur The King – an American film starring Mark Wahlberg, Simu Liu and Juliet Rylance about an adventure racing team that adopts a stray dog during a gruelling endurance event.
“The price is really quite attractive and it’s a once-a-year event,” Au said. “I love going to the movies anyway, and HK$30 is such a good deal – you can’t even get that watching the discounted early showings.”
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The Hong Kong Movie website said a Grand Kornhill Cinema ticket for a 10.10am showing of Arthur The King on Thursday cost HK$60. Tickets for the 3.35pm screening were priced at HK$80.
Jeremy Choi, a Form Five secondary school pupil, said the HK$30 price was well within his budget, and he would be buying tickets for the anime film Haikyuu!! The Dumpster Battle to watch with friends.
“It will be a nice break from studying,” he said.
A staff member at the cinema said the queue was about 30 per cent bigger than on typical days and that he expected there to be near-full houses on Sunday.
“Last year, we had completely full houses, but this year is the second year, so the novelty may be gone,” he said.
The staff member added the city was still being affected by the pandemic last year, but that there was now a tendency for people to travel to Shenzhen on the weekends. But the industry was “still optimistic” about the event, the employee added.
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The first cinema day was held on April 27 last year and the Theatres Association reported a record high single-day attendance of almost 222,000 film fans.
The Hong Kong Theatres Association said on Wednesday the event had received “enthusiastic support” from the public and that overall ticket sales had been smooth throughout the day.
“Cinemas learned from the experience last year and made sufficient preparations for both online and offline ticket sales,” association chairman Timothy Yuen Yin-man said.
“They have also prepared a rich and diverse film line-up for the event to ensure that audiences with different preferences can have an enjoyable Sunday.”