Pakistani cinemas shutting down at an alarming rate

Express Tribune

17-03-2025

Kaabil was the first Indian film to release in Pakistan after a months-long ban in 2017. photo: file
An estimated 40 per cent of screens across Pakistani cinemas have shut down since 2018. According to a document provided by exhibitor Nadeem Mandviwalla, 58 screens across 36 cinemas have been closed, with nine more screens temporarily shut down lately.
The cinemas that have halted operations include Lahore's Cinestar – ATC, PAF Cinema, Imperial Cinemas, Shabistan Cinema, Prince Cinema, Plaza Cinema, Super Cinema – Royal Palms, Super Cinema – Vogue Tower, Bahria Cinegold Orchard, Sozo World, Cinepax Lake City, Gulistan Cinema and Luxus Grand.
In Karachi, Atrium Cinemas, Capri Cinema, Bambino Cinema and Mega Multiplex have been unfunctional whereas Cinemoosh, Bambino and Cinepax have ceased operations in Hyderabad.
Meanwhile, Ciros and Odeon in Rawalpindi, Noor Mahal, Cine-One and Sabina Cinema in Faisalabad, Cinestar and Rex Multiplex in Multan, Cine Mehfil Cinema and Parwana Cinema in Sialkot, PAF Cinema and Khayyam Cinema in Sargodha, Marian Cinema in Sahiwal, Naz Cinema in Peshawar, Arts Council in Murree, Gulistan Cinema in Sheikhupura, and Zinco Palace in Gujranwala have all gone under.
Among the total 36 cinemas, Lahore seems to be affected the most with 13 cinemas ceasing operations in the last seven years. Karachi is second on the list with four and Hyderabad third with three cinemas.
Moreover, among the 124 active screens across 48 cinemas, nine screens have been temporarily shut down. Among them are four screens in Cinepax, Packages Mall, one in Cinepax Amanah Mall, and 1 in Chalo Cinema in Lahore, one in JFC Islamabad, one in Taj Mahal Faisalabad, and one in Cinepax Jinnah Park Rawalpindi.
According to the report, that brings the total active screens across the country down to 115. Many factors play into Pakistani cinemas' decline at an alarming rate including lack of enough films to sustain the theatres year-round, the shift in audience's viewing habits since the pandemic and the ban on Indian films.
Pakistan first banned Indian films in 2016 in response to the Indian Motion Picture Producers' Association (IMPPA) banning Pakistani actors, singers and technicians from working in Indian films. The tensions between the two countries continued for months. But the ban was eventually lifted with the release of Hrithik Roshan's Kaabil in February 2017.
However, on February 26, 2019, Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets violated Pakistan's airspace, causing Pakistan Air Force (PAF) to launch Operation Swift Retort in broad daylight on February 27, 2019 and capture pilot Abhinandan Varthaman. It immediately resulted in another ban on Indian films by Pakistan, which is still in effect.