CJ CGV Completely Withdraws from U.S. Theater Business After 15 Years

CJ CGV has completely halted its direct theater operations in the U.S. after 15 years, closing its last foothold in North America, the Los Angeles (LA) location.

CGV U.S. recently announced on its official website, "After careful consideration, we have made the difficult decision to permanently close the CGV LA location." The final operating day for the location was the 21st (local time).

A CGV representative told Yonhap News, "We have completely overhauled our global business strategy," and explained, "Instead of expanding theater operations, we have shifted our strategic direction to the expansion of our subsidiary CJ 4DPLEX's special theater technology (ScreenX, 4DX)."

CGV's entry into North America dates back to 2010. That year, it opened the LA location with 3 screens and 600 seats in June, and in January 2017, it opened the Buena Park location with 8 screens and 1,187 seats. In September 2021, it opened a large theater with 14 screens, including a special theater, in downtown San Francisco, operating a total of 3 locations in North America.

However, after the COVID-19 pandemic, it faced difficulties due to a decrease in theatergoers and worsening business conditions. The San Francisco location closed in February 2023, and the Buena Park location closed in March of this year.

With the decline in audiences due to the spread of online video services (OTT), it was determined that securing profitability through direct theater operations was difficult, leading to a strategic shift to providing special theater operation technology to other multiplex theaters.

In fact, CJ 4DPLEX recorded its best performance ever in the North American market in the first half of this year. From January to June, the North American box office revenue through 4DX and ScreenX theaters totaled $55 million (approximately 76.2 billion won), a 47% increase compared to the same period last year. Notably, 4DX generated $35 million (48.5 billion won) in revenue, a 51% increase compared to the first half of last year.

Globally, CJ 4DPLEX operates a total of 1,212 theaters, including 772 4DX theaters and 439 ScreenX theaters.

A CGV representative stated, "We are accelerating global growth through large-scale contracts with global theater chains, including AMC, the world's largest theater chain."