Arndale cinema closure announced on same day another western suburbs movie house reopens
Event Cinemas won’t reopen its cinema at Arndale, but another western suburbs movie house has reopened its doors on the same day.
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After more than two decades of movie screenings, Event Cinemas today announced it will not continue its lease on the Greater Union cinema at Arndale.
In an email to its Cinebuzz members, Event Cinemas said it was a “difficult decision”.
“We’ve been showing movies at Greater Union Arndale for more than two decades so this decision was not made lightly,” the statement read.
“Together we have shared magical movie moments, first dates, family outings, birthday celebrations, romantic anniversaries, huge belly-laughs, exciting adventures and nightmarish scary scenes – and we’ve loved every minute.
“This decision is based on our strong commitment to keep reinvesting in our other venues in the region. Our promise to provide exceptional movie experiences in Adelaide is stronger than ever and we truly appreciate the community’s ongoing support.”
Ironically, on the same day this message went out to moviegoers another western suburbs movie-going institution – The Odeon Star Cinema at Semaphore – reopened its doors for the first time in five months, after being shut down due to COVID-19.
Owner and manager Joe Proud said there was a great local reaction to the reopening.
“It’s good to be back. people seem to be really happy we’ve reopened,” he said.
Mr Proud said a number of steps had been taken to ensure patron safety including blocking every second row in the cinemas.
“Hopefully by doing this, and by people coming in and seeing what we’re doing, we’ll start to get busier,” he said.
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Odeon kicked off its first day back with the Christopher Nolan film Tenet but Mr Proud said the biggest issue for cinemas at the moment is getting access to new movies.
Mr Proud said COVID-related shutdowns meant there was a backlog of films still to be released.
Arndale centre management and Event Cinemas were approached for comment.