On January 20, Salom Cinema ceased operations, as reported by Afisha.uz citing representatives of the establishment.
The founder of the cinema, Farrukh Tulyaganov, informed Spot that the primary reason for the closure was the rising rental costs.
“We could no longer sustain the rent. I can’t say there were no profits; attendance was decent, but it wasn’t like it was 5–6 years ago,” he noted.
All the cinema equipment was removed during the night of January 19-20 and has been “conserved.” The entrepreneur is already looking for a suitable location to resume operations. “We plan to open at a new site or to create additional halls in our Parus, Riviera, and Next cinemas,” added Tulyaganov.
The cinema opened in May 2017. A distinctive feature of Salom Cinema was its soft, functional seats that could be adjusted with buttons.
In an interview with Spot in 2018, Tulyaganov shared the initial successes of the establishment.
“Two months after opening, we reached the break-even point. We covered rent, advertising, employee salaries, and made a small profit, although the equipment had not yet paid off.”
Tulyaganov emphasized that the choice of location was a strategic decision based on an analysis of viewer behavior. According to him, each year, people increasingly prefer to visit cinemas near their homes, avoiding traffic jams and long trips.
Earlier, Spot reported on where to watch movies and series in Uzbekistan and how much it costs.