Star Cineplex Kuching

Region

Malaysia

Associated With

Hock Star Entertainment Industry Berhad - represented cinema management in 2016

Defining Feature

Five halls above Medan Pelita and a farewell sale offering seats with 35mm film frames

Status

Closed - cinema operation ended in 2016

Overview

Star Cineplex Kuching was a five-hall, 900-seat cinema on Level 9 of Medan Pelita in Kuching.

Industry reports place its opening in 1997. For nearly two decades, it screened films from the top floor of the Wayang/Temple Street car park.

In April 2016, management advertised a farewell sale in one hall while four halls were intended to keep screening. Visitors could buy RM30 seats and receive a few frames of 35mm film; the cinema closed later in 2016.

Why It Mattered

For nearly two decades, Star Cineplex was part of everyday life in Kuching, providing a place for school outings, first dates and repeated visits to favourite films. Its location above Medan Pelita also made the journey to the cinema and its elevated views part of the experience.

The 2016 farewell sale gave that history an unusual physical afterlife. Visitors could buy seats, posters and other cinema memorabilia, while management offered small pieces of 35mm film as keepsakes. The sale offered former customers a chance to preserve physical reminders of the cinema they had known.

Programmes and Cinema Work

• In June 2013, Hock Star Entertainment presented educational films through Star Cineplex Kuching, with executive director Wong Kai Lim named in the report.
• A Motion Picture Association Asia-Pacific report records cinema staff taking part in anti-camcording training and security inspections during the first half of 2015.

Farewell Sale Plan

• The sale was advertised for Sundays 3, 10, 17 and 24 April 2016; the records do not confirm that every session took place.
• Management planned to use one hall for the sale while the other four continued screening films.
• Buyers could request a preferred seat for staff to dismantle, priced at RM30.
• Other advertised material included posters, uniforms, caps and children’s CDs or merchandise.

Closure Date and Causes

• Management attributed the closure to low attendance, preference for larger and newer cinemas, the age of the premises and an inability to cover running costs.
• A 2016 report announced that cinema operations would cease on 30 April.
• Cinema Online’s operational log records permanent closure from 2 May, while a later retrospective gives 3 May.
• The cinema is confirmed closed, but the exact final-screening or administrative closure date remains unsettled.

Gallery