Cathay cinema survived a world war, but there may not be a sequel for the icon
mm2 Asia - which bought the cinema chain in 2017 - on Thursday (Jul 17) said that Cathay Cineplexes' closure is one of several options being explored, in light of financial challenges.
Originally known as Cathay Cinema, Cathay Cineplexes is one of Singapore's oldest cinema chains and its origins predate Singapore's independence and World War II.
It opened its doors to the public in October 1939, as Singapore's first air-conditioned theatre.
Having survived a world war, Cathay launched Singapore's first drive-in theatre in the 1970s and grew its network of theatres.
The Business Times traces Cathay's storied history:
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Origins
July 1935: Loke Cheng Kim incorporated Associated Theatres in Singapore. The Penang-born businesswoman had noticed a lack of entertainment establishments. Her husband Loke Yew was a Malaysian tycoon who made his fortunes in Malaysia and the region through tin mining, real estate and banking.
1936: A year later, her son, the prominent film entrepreneur Loke Wan Tho, embarked on the building of Cathay Cinema and the famous Cathay building. Wan Tho was a businessman and had a keen interest in ornithology and photography.
Oct 3, 1939: Cathay Cinema's first outlet opened to the public, with the screening of a formerly banned film, The Four Feathers.
The 1,300-seat theatre was located in the landmark Cathay building on 2 Handy Road. The 16-storey tower also housed a hotel and was Singapore's first skyscraper and tallest building at the time of its completion.
1941: The building was leased to the British colonial government and the Malayan Broadcasting Corporation and was used to broadcast war updates.
1942-1945: It housed the Japanese broadcasting department, military propaganda department and the military information bureau.
Post-World War Two expansion
1945: The cinema reopened after the war, and the Cathay building became the headquarters for the Supreme Allied Commander of South-east Asia, Admiral Louis Mountbatten.
February 1949: Cathay Organisation regained control of the building after the government vacated it.
1959: Associated Theatre was renamed Cathay Organisation.
1965: Cathay unveiled its second cinema, Orchard Theatre.
Jul 14, 1971: It opened Singapore's first drive-in cinema in Jurong. The 5.6-hectare site at Yuan Ching Road, next to the Japanese Gardens, could pack 900 cars and 300 patrons in its walk-in gallery. The drive-in shuttered in 1985 due to poor attendance and rising competition from pirated videos.
1991: Cathay Cinema expanded from a single-screen to a multiplex with numerous cinema halls.
1997: The Cathay Cineleisure Orchard mall opened at the former site of the Orchard Theatre.
1998: Cathay Cineplexes incorporated to manage cinema operations.
1999: Cathay Organisation listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange. It was delisted in 2006.
Jun 30, 2000: The cinema at the Cathay building closed as part of Cathay Organisation's S$100 million plan to redevelop the building.
Feb 10, 2003: Alongside MacDonald House, the Cathay building was gazetted as a national monument. It was partially demolished, with its art deco facade preserved.
2006: The Cathay reopened as a cineplex, private residence and mall.
Change in ownership
November, 2017: The Cathay Organisation sold its cinema business to mm2 Asia for S$230 million. The entertainment company took over its eight theatres, comprising 64 screens, and purchased all shares of its cineplex subsidiary.
March 2021: mm2 Asia was said to be mulling a spin-off of its cinema business with a Catalist listing. Battered by shrinking revenue during the pandemic, the segment weighed on the group's earnings and shares, having clocked a S$16.5 million pre-tax loss in 2020.
Jun 27, 2022: Cathay Cineplexes ceased operations at its iconic The Cathay outlet on 2 Handy Road. Its space became a pop-up outlet for independent cinema operator The Projector from Aug 23, 2022. (ST)
mm2 Asia said the move was part of cost rationalisation for its cinema operations.
Cinema closures and unpaid arrears
Jan 28, 2025: Cathay Cineplex received letters of demand from landlords of two outlets seeking around S$2.7 million in monies owed.
Century Square sought payment of S$479,185 in rental arrears and other monies by Feb 10.
Causeway Point demanded payment of S$1.2 million by Feb 10 and for S$1 million to be paid to its trustee, HSBC Institutional Trust Services, by Feb 3, in addition to legal fees.
Both properties are owned by Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT).
Feb 6, 2025: Responding to SGX queries, mm2 Asia said it had paid back S$12 million owed to landlords, and the remaining S$2.7 million is a quarter of the total sum owed to the two outlets' landlords from Apr 1, 2020, to Jan 31, 2025.
The bourse operator had questioned why the owed monies were not yet paid despite mm2 Asia posting S$10.1 million in cash and cash equivalents for its H1 financials that year.
The group clarified that Cathay Cineplex was not disputing the payments and added that the S$10.1 million in cash and cash equivalents were not restricted or encumbered, but instead had been partially deployed to its other businesses.
It added that the cinema industry's slower-than-expected recovery hampered Cathay Cineplex's ability to repay arrears in a timely manner and said it was actively engaging the landlords to resolve the matter.
Feb 17, 2025: mm2 Asia said Cathay's outlet at West Mall, owned by Singapore Land Group, would close for reinstatement works on Feb 20 - the same day its Bukit Batok shopping complex outlet's lease expired.
It added that the cinema chain had been undergoing a post-Covid rightsizing for the past two years.
Mar 27, 2025: mm2 Asia announced the closure of Cathay Cineplex's Jem cinema on Mar 27 as the outlet's landlord was terminating its lease from that date.
The landlord, Lendlease Global Commercial Reit, sought S$4.3 million in monies owed by Cathay Cineplex.
May 28, 2025: mm2 Asia proposed the S$1.7 million sale of part of its 29.29 per cent stake in its subsidiary Vividthree Holdings. It said proceeds would be used to repay outstanding debt and improve its financial position.
Jul 1, 2025: Cathay Cineplexes received a S$3.4 million payment demand from Lendlease Global Commercial Reit, for arrears related to the cinema chain's use of the shuttered Jem premises.
It was to pay up the monies by Jul 22, or alternatively, secure or compound the sum to the satisfaction of the Jem outlet landlord by that date.
Jul 4, 2025: mm2 Asia proposed a placement of 1.875 billion shares to raise funds.
Full subscription at S$0.008 per share would yield S$14 million in net proceeds. mm2 Asia said S$7.5 million would go to debts and liabilities, while the remainder would be for working capital.
Jul 15, 2025: Cathay Cineplex gets statutory demands from FCT, the landlord of its Century Square and Causeway Point outlets, seeking more than S$3.3 million in owed monies. It must pay up the full amount by Aug 5, 2025, or alternatively secure or compound the sums to FCT's reasonable satisfaction.
Jul 16, 2025: The cinema operator proposed extending the repayment deadline of S$54 million bonds maturing in December by six years, to Dec 31, 2031, avoid a default.
Jul 17, 2025: To address financial challenges, mm2 Asia said it is considering winding up Cathay Cineplexes among other options. These include continuing talks with landlords to restructure existing obligations under a court-supervised process that allows operations to continue.
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