Palace Amusement announces closure of Cineplex, Multiplex

Palace Amusement Company yesterday announced the closure of its Palace Cineplex in Liguanea and Palace Multiplex in Montego Bay.

The company has been navigating a tumultuous course since the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica. After a near four-month lockdown of its four cinemas in March, and a hopeful reopening in July, the company’s operations have been tenuous in the face of shifting schedules due to curfew restrictions. Over the past weeks, the daily early and late shows were cut to only one early show due to the current 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. curfew mandated by the Government until October 6, as a result of the spike and community spread of the virus.

“The company can no longer manage to sustain Cineplex and Multiplex at the current low level of patronage. This move to close is in the best interest of the company, its staff, shareholders and stakeholders,” said Melanie Graham, marketing manager.

“Our late shows, which start at approximately 8 p.m. to 9 p.m., do better at all locations, and so the degree of difficulty we face has gone through the roof with running the early show only and at a much earlier start of approximately 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. just to meet curfew restrictions. Going forward, the company will review the situation, but at this stage there is no other course.

“Carib 5 in Cross Roads and Sunshine Palace in Portmore will continue to operate with the best movie options that Palace Amusement can provide at this time,” Graham said.

Palace Amusement cinemas now operate with a seal of approval for COVID-19 safety compliance from the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development.