VIP cinema in ABC Ashrafieh

Grand Cinemas leads local market in 2012

Grand Cinemas, the movie operator in ABC malls, will soon be introducing the VIP theater experience to ABC Ashrafieh. The inclusion of a new VIP section is part of a $2.5 million revamping process at existing theaters, according to Isaac Fahed, marketing manager at Grand Cinemas. Fahed said the VIP theater will seat 25 viewers and provide them with all the luxury amenities.

“Luxury theaters are booming because it is a new trend, providing high-end services at relatively affordable prices,” said Fahed. VIP tickets will be sold at around LL25,000 (compared to LL12,000) for regular tickets.

Moreover, Grand Cinemas will operate the new movie theater complex in the Landmark mall of Beirut's Central District (BCD) scheduled for opening early in 2014. The venue will have 11 theaters, including VIP sections. Fahed said huge investments were made into this venture. He also said another project is geared for one of Beirut’s malls, without disclosing the name of the mall.

UAE-based Grand Cinemas was rated as the most visited local cinema venue in 2012. “After just five years of operations in the market we became the number one movie operator, with the highest number of releases, and had the highest number of visitors,” Fahed said.

Grand Cinemas released some 250 movies in 2012, and sold 1.5 million tickets. “These figures indicate that we account for some 45 percent of the market in terms of visitors,” Fahed said.

Although the cinema industry dropped by around two percent compared to 2011, Fahed said Grand Cinemas still managed to pull off a good performance. Grand Cinemas achieved ten percent year-on-year growth in 2012. “Unlike most of the other movie operators locally, we welcomed additional viewers,” he said.

Grand Cinemas was introduced in Lebanon in 2007 under the ownership of Selim Ramia. Ramia is the co-founder of Gulf Film Group, the firm behind Grand Cinemas. The chain now runs five venues: Las Salinas-Enfeh, Saida Mall, ABC Ashrafieh, ABC Dbayeh, and Concorde-Hamra.