I recently found out that the UAE cinema brand Star Cinemas is planning to open in Kuwait. They currently operate in two markets, the UAE and Oman, with over 150 screens across both. They’ve been around since 1964, although this is the first time I’ve come across them, which probably has more to do with me not living in the UAE than them not being very popular.
For their first location, they’re planning to take over the old Cinescape space at Al Fanar Mall in Salmiya (pictured in this post).
From what I’ve been able to put together, they won’t be competing directly with the likes of Cinescape or VOX. Instead, they’re likely to go up against smaller cinema brands such as Sky Cinemas and Ozone Cinemas.
I wasn’t able to get a launch date from Star Cinemas, but I do know they’re currently looking for F&B partners for their concession stand, so I’m assuming it’s happening soon.
Cinescape at Al Fanar opened back in 1997 and was the first cinema in Kuwait to be located inside a mall. The location was extremely popular in the late 90s and early 2000s, before eventually closing last October.
3 replies on “A New Cinema Brand is Coming to Kuwait”
Good stuff. My guess is Star Cinemas is to movie theaters what Primark is to high street retail. A course correction in the price of movie tickets was long overdue given the popularity of OTT and streaming platforms, the economy and changing demographics.
My only hope is they will look to regular screening of Irani films in Kuwait.
Yeah I think that’s the direction but not sure about Irani films, based on their website it’s more Indian and Filipino films which makes sense considering they’re opening in Salmiya.
Sadly most people here haven’t discovered the talents of Abbas Kiarostomi, Asghar Farhidi and Majid Majidi.
Iran has always produced some of the best cinema out there.