Major South Korean conglomerate affiliate Lotte Cultureworks has announced it has opened its first Lotte Cinema multiplex in Indonesia.
With five screens and 759 seats, the cinema is located in Southern Jakarta, in the Lotte Mart Fatmawati branch. (Lotte Mart is a chain of big box hypermarket stores that the conglomerate runs around Asia.)
In analysing the Indonesian market, Lotte Cultureworks noted the Southeast Asian country has the world’s fourth largest population – more than five times South Korea’s 51.6 million people – and “a high economic growth rate”.
“With 314 films released in 2016 and 389 films in 2017, the film business is also growing rapidly,” the conglomerate stated. “On the other hand, their total number of screens is around 1,600, markedly lacking compared to Korea’s (around 3,000).”
Lotte Cinema has 116 multiplexes with 829 screens in South Korea, and a total of 49 cinemas with 260 screens in China and Vietnam.
Min Joonki, president director of PT Lotte Cinema Indonesia, said: “The Indonesian market has high potential for continued growth and a lot of interest in Korean culture, which they are familiar with. We will take the film business know-how we’ve accumulated in Korea, Vietnam and China to create a Korean Wave film boom in Indonesia as well.”
Lotte Cultureworks plans to open two more cinemas in Indonesia in 2019 and have a total of 20 in major cities by 2022.The company also plans to launch further into local production, distribution, and financing.
For the Lotte Cinema Fatmawati branch, Lotte Cultureworks says they took into consideration the concentration of schools and residences in the area and are operating the cinema with one “prestige” hall, outfitted with reclining seats throughout, and one screen specifically for kids. The company places an emphasis on their “ultra-modern facilities and interior” in addition to cinema-operating expertise.
No comments yet