Major's ticket sales down after New Year's Eve bombs

Major's ticket sales down after New Year's Eve bombs.

The Major Cineplex Group saw its ticket sales plunge 15 per cent in the first week after the Bangkok blasts, but only its downtown locations saw a drop in audience numbers.

Its cineplexes in Paragon, Siam Discovery and CentralWorld shopping malls as well as the standalone Major Ekamai were affected, while those in the suburbs, such as Rangsit, Pinklao and Bang Na, and on Rama II Road felt little impact.

"The situation is improving and I'm quite confident our group will achieve total revenue growth of 30 per cent this year," chairman Vicha Poolvaraluck said yesterday.

"The bombing incident has destroyed the positive sentiment of consumers. Their [economic] fundamentals, including purchasing power and demand for entertainment, however, are still strong," he said.

The Major Cineplex Group chalked up total revenues of Bt5.2 billion last year, up from Bt4.6 billion in 2005.

Vicha expects the overall industry to put in a sterling performance this year on the back of a strong line-up of Thai films and Hollywood blockbusters.

"We expect the industry to grow from Bt4 billion in ticket sales last year to between Bt4.5 billion and Bt5 billion this year," he said.

Set to be screened this year are "Spider-Man 3", "Pirates of the Caribbean 3", "Fantastic Four 2", "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix", "Ocean's Thirteen", "Ong-bak 2", "Nong Teng Nakleng Phukhao Thong 2" and "Bodyguard 2".

Vicha said "Naresuan", the Thai epic that will hit local screens in the middle of this month, was expected to rake in more than Bt500 million at the box office.

Major has tightened security measures particularly in sensitive locations in central Bangkok. More police and military officers would stand by at its cinemas around the clock.

Major Ratchayothin has installed almost 70 closed-circuit TVs, while more than 90 CCTVs would be allocated to Major's latest property, Esplanade Cineplex, operating since December.

Despite the many uncertainties, Major Cineplex has confirmed it would pursue its investment plans for the year. It would still open almost 40 cinemas, including in Pattaya and Chon Buri town. The group now runs about 300 theatres in 35 locations.

"We will also spend Bt1.5 billion for the expansion of our complex in Ratchayothin, which will be developed as a 'lifestyle centre', with new retail magnets like Villa Supermarket and more Japanese restaurants," Vicha said.

The economic environment was quite gloomy, he said.

"In the private sector, we feel unsettled as we have seen no clear policy by the government.

"We also would like the government to discuss and gather information and ideas from the private sector before launching any regulations and campaigns that could affect the country and overall economy," he said.

The initiatives taken by the government including the draft bill to amend the Foreign Business Act, aimed at solving the nominee problem, have been considered a "defensive" strategy and may limit foreign investment in the country, he added.

Kwanchai Rungfapaisarn

The Nation
Thursday January 11, 2007