Xtreme Vogue Islamabad Desk: Irtiza Salim
Capri cinema, one of the Karachi’s oldest cinemas,, made an inexplicable and bizarre announcement on Thursday, that it will not screen any movies until next week.
The closure has not been motivated by any desire to update or upgrade the cinema or any other maintenance related reasons. Rather, it is closing the cinema because they do not have any movies to screen.
In a brief Facebook post on Thursday evening – a time when any cinema is gearing up for the weekend rush – Capri cinema announced that instead, it would be shutting down for a week.
“No New films are being released this Friday as such Capri Cinema will remain closed till Thursday 2nd February 2023.”
The cinema said that no new local nor international (Hollywood) releases are planned for the weekend, nor are there any other recent releases available that would help fill the theater.
In a veiled ode to the release of Shah Rukh Khan starer Pathaan across the border that has helped revive many flagging cinemas in a country which sports over 13,000 screens – including 10,000 single-screen cinemas like Capri.
When asked Capri Cinema General Manager Aziz Khattak told SAMAA TV that there was no Pakistani film available cinemas except for The Legend of Maula Jatt.
He said the Fawad Khan and Hamza Ali Abbasi starer has supported the theaters for two and a half months, drawing large crowds but interest has now waned.
It was followed by Hollywood blockbuster Avatar: The Way of Water.
However, now no new Pakistani movie is being released for local movie goers. Movies are being held for release on Eidul Fitr, which is around the corner and considered to be the ideal time to release movies for maximum impact and revenue.
With a ban on screening Bollywood movies, local cinemas say they have been missing out, even putting their very survival at risk.
