Cathay Cineplexes shut down its Jem outlet in Jurong East on 27 Mar 2025, following a notice of termination from landlord Lendlease Global Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust due to significant rental arrears.
Cinema Chain Faces Financial Struggles After COVID-19 Impact
The closure of the Jem cinema follows closely behind Cathay’s West Mall outlet shutdown on 20 Feb 2025, marking the sixth cinema closure by mm2 Asia in less than three years.
Other shuttered locations include the Cathay Building, Orchard Cineleisure, Parkway Parade, and AMK Hub.
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In its Singapore Exchange filing, mm2 Asia, which operates Cathay Cineplexes, cited “challenges facing the cinema industry since the onset of COVID-19” as a key factor in the closure.
The company stated that despite “actively engaging” with Lendlease for over a year to negotiate issues related to the premises and rental arrears, the landlord decided to terminate the lease.
Lendlease is now seeking to recover approximately S$4.3 million in rental arrears that Cathay owes up to the termination date. The cinema chain has committed to working with the landlord to settle these outstanding debts.
“Cathay would like to thank Lendlease for their support over the years throughout the COVID-19 period and post-pandemic, during which the cinema business had seen significant challenges,” mm2 Asia stated.
Growing Financial Troubles Across Multiple Outlets
This latest closure comes amid broader financial issues for the cinema chain.
On 28 Jan 2025, Cathay received letters of demand from landlords of two other cinema outlets – Century Square in Tampines and Causeway Point in Woodlands – seeking S$2.7 million in alleged rent, legal costs, and other monies owed.
The landlord of the Century Square outlet demanded S$479,185.74 in rental arrears and other monies, plus S$893.80 in legal costs to be paid by 10 Feb 2025.
Meanwhile, the landlord of the Causeway Point outlet asked for S$1 million to be paid to its trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services, by 3 Feb 2025, and an additional S$1.2 million by 10 Feb 2025, along with S$555.90 in legal fees.
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When queried by the Singapore Exchange about why owed funds had not been paid despite mm2 Asia reporting S$10.1 million in cash and cash equivalents in its first-half financial results for FY2025, the group explained it had deployed a portion of the monies for use in its other businesses.
Cathay Cineplexes maintains it is committed to “post-COVID rightsizing” and realigning its business, which it has been pursuing for the past two years.
The company described this as a “painful but inevitable process” that will “allow the cinema to explore new opportunities based on current market demands and ensure long-term sustainability.”
In an exclusive interview last month, mm2 Asia’s founder Melvin Ang expressed that he is not giving up on the silver screen and remains optimistic about the chain’s future.
Following the announcement, shares of mm2 Asia fell S$0.001 or 10 percent to S$0.009 as at 10:15 am on Thursday.
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Cinema attendance in Singapore stood at 10 million in 2023, significantly down from its peak of 22.1 million in 2011.
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