Has 'going to movies' become a thing of the past?
With many other cheaper entertainment offerings available, cinema groups have to rethink their business strategies.
Photo: Unsplash/Marius GIRE
CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to CEO of Ster-Kinekor Mark Sardi, to find out the state of the South African cinema market.
Listen below:
Is cinema still a viable entertainment attraction?
Ster-Kinekor, South Africa’s largest cinema operator, announced that it will shut down its long-standing movie theatre at Cavendish Square in Cape Town, on Monday 2 June 2025.
With a plethora of other entertainment offerings available, at much cheaper prices, cinema groups are having to rethink their business strategies.
However, Sardi says cinemas "will remain a popular destination for moviegoers" and explains that Ster-Kinekor closing in Cavendish was not due to lack of popularity.
"It was a specific set of circumstances around Cavendish that brought us to the decision to close our doors. It will still be operated, just not by us. The renewal of the lease was stapled to taking on another site where we already have a strong presence in that particular region, so we believed if we took on Cavendish and another combined site, it just wouldn't have made sense... but we still have a strong presence in the Western Cape."
- Mark Sardi, Ster-Kinekor CEO
"With shopping centres globally and the onset of online buying, you can get anything that you can get at a shopping centre, online. There's an increasing realisation that entertainment has to be the bedrock of what pulls customers back into the malls - and movies is a fundamental bedrock, if you will, for pulling in those feet."
- Mark Sardi, Ster-Kinekor CEO
Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.