Chin weighs options: MovieTowne Tobago has not been profitable

MOVIETOWNE owner Derek Chin says the franchise’s Tobago cinema has not been profitable.

As a result, Chin said, he is exploring his options.

“The cinema’s viability is currently under review,” he told Newsday. “It has not been a very good cinema in Tobago, for whatever reason. Don’t know if it is the Tobago culture, or if people are watching television at home, piracy, whatever.”

Chin said the impact of the covid19 pandemic on the cinema industry and the general decline in the Tobago economy also informed his decision.

“The economy in Tobago has not been very vibrant, and then with covid19 and the very dire restrictions, it has created uncertainty for the future.”

He said Tobago entrepreneurs and others, who may have been toying with the idea of investing in the cinema industry, can contact him.

But at the same time he said the cinema is not on the market.

“I am open to offers. It’s not like it’s for sale.

"But if somebody came along and said, ‘I don’t mind trying a thing, because I live in Tobago,’ then maybe they might be able to make it work for themselves.”

The cinema industry and others deemed non-essential were severely affected when public health regulations were implemented at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

This was exacerbated by the Prime Minister’s announcement in April that malls, restaurants, bars, casinos, cinemas and gyms would be closed to contain the spike in covid19 infections at that time.

Chin said although the industry is still in dire straits, he plans to hold on the Movie Towne cinemas in Port of Spain, San Fernando and Guyana, all of which remain closed under public health restrictions. He said these three cinemas were reasonably viable entities before the lockdown.

“They are all right, once they open.

"But they have not opened for a year. We only had three months of this year and last year was two months. So for ten months out of the past 15 months we have been closed.”

He said Movie Towne Guyana has been closed since March 2020.