Covid-19 has claimed another victim in Hong Kong – UA Cinemas, which screened thousands of international and local blockbusters over more than 35 years.
The chain’s half-dozen cinemas were shuttered with little warning “due to unavoidable and devastating pressure faced by our operations since the outbreak of the [novel] coronavirus pandemic” according to a company statement. The city’s cinema-goers swiftly took to the internet to express their disappointment that Covid-19 had struck another blow at everyday life.
However, a spokesperson for Macao’s 1,000-seat UA Galaxy Cinemas at Galaxy Macau resort in Cotai told The Macau Post Daily that the 10-screen cineplex “operates as usual” and will continue in business.
UA’s Hong Kong operation was founded in 1985 by larger-than-life US tycoon Ira Kaye, who set up the American Chamber of Commerce and also dabbled in agriculture and telecommunications.