Rent rise rings down curtain on cinema

Rising rents have forced Causeway Bay's 30-year-old New York Cinema to close. The two-screen, 800-seat cinema, called New York because it once showed only western movies, closed its doors after its 9.30pm show on Wednesday.

Woody Tsung Wan-chi, chief executive of the Hong Kong, Kowloon and New Territories Motion Picture Industry Association, said the closure highlighted the struggle faced by cinema to control costs.

'People say ticket prices are expensive, but with rents increasing so substantially since 2005, it is very difficult to reduce prices.'

He said the closure of the Hennessy Road cinema and the ongoing renovations at UA Pacific Place would have a short-term impact on box-office takings.