14 Oct – As Lotus Five Star (LFS) cinemas unveiled their new Cineplex at IOI Mall, Kulai, Johor last week and announced plans for their upcoming branches, many speculate that their yet to be revealed Penang branch set to open next month may be well located in Prangin Mall.
After speaking with the Marketing Manager of Cathay Cineplexes Sdn Bhd, Thila Chandran, Cinema Online confirms that Cathay's Prangin Mall Cineplex has indeed been closed since yesterday, 13 November 2011. The movie showtimes has been removed from our Cinema Online website as well as in the major newspapers' cinema listings. The Cineplex has moved out of the 6 level mall located at the heart of Georgetown, Penang, and it is said that the management of the mall is yet to reveal its plans of the 8 hall Cineplex. Speculations that LFS might be taking over the Cathay Cineplex at Prangin Mall comes after the Lotus team had revealed during the opening launch of LFS IOI Mall, Kulai, that it has plans to take over an existing Cineplex in Penang. Cathay Cineplex at Prangin Mall, Penang opened on 27 April 2001. It offered 8 halls with a 1490 seating capacity. Currently, LFS has 2 Cineplexes in Penang which are, LFS Bukit Jambul in Bayan Lepas and LFS Butterworth in Seberang Prai. TGV First Avenue opening early this year which also houses 8 halls, existed as Cathay's competition, as both Prangin Mall and First Avenue are back-to-back shopping malls, housing their respective Cineplexes separated by a narrow back lane located less than 30 steps apart from one another. The physical close proximity of these 2 Cineplexes are the closest of any other 2 Cineplexes in the nation. The next closest 2 Cineplexes used to be in 1 Utama Shopping Mall, Damansara Utama, where TGV and GSC were only 50 metres apart within the same mall, and in Melaka, where GSC Dataran Pahlawan and LFS Mahkota Parade are in adjacent buildings.