End of an era as Cavendish cinemas close
It was, perhaps, inevitable that this day would come. But the news this week that Ster-Kinekor will close its cinemas in the Claremont shopping centre, Cavendish Square, marks the end of an era.
From high school dates to family outings, the cineplex at Cavendish Square has long been part of the fabric of the city's southern suburbs. Once famous for its plush seats, a choice of Cinema Nouveau downstairs and more commercially-minded 'flicks' up top, and the luxurious seating of the Cine Prestige, it seems Ster Kinekor did pretty much everything they could to keep us coming back to the silver screen. And it didn't work. Not even the prospect of 3D screens could pry us off the couch and into the cinema again.
In the face of rising costs, Covid, and all-pervasive streaming services, the writing has been on the wall for some time and it was perhaps only a matter of when, not if, the price (ever-increasing) of selling movie tickets and popcorn could cover hefty rents in Cavendish Square.
It turns out the 'when' is Monday, 2 June: this will be the last day of trade for Ster-Kinekor at Cavendish Square, and the screens will go dark. The lights will go up, the popcorn swept from the floor, and movie-goers will file out into the light one last time.
I'll miss the after-credits chats about whether the movie was any good. I'll miss the lingering taste of sour cream and chives (always, the sour cream and chives) popcorn salt. I won't miss the outrageous cost of said popcorn, or the people who check their phones and take calls (who does that?) in the middle of the movie.
'While this chapter closes, we're firmly focused on the future and are actively investing in our current cinema complexes,' Ster-Kinekor said in a statement released this week. '[This will] ensure that every visit to watch a movie at one of our Ster-Kinekor theatres delivers a truly exceptional movie-going experience, every time.'
The question is: do we still want that kind of movie-going experience? Or are we happier on our own couch? Given that the Cavendish closure follows in the wake of cinemas shuttering in Johannesburg and Durban, that remains to be seen. Perhaps we'll be jolted into a wave of nostalgia that has us rushing back to the cinema? Or perhaps we'll just fire up the flat-screen at home and make our own microwave popcorn instead. Sadly, it'll never be as good as that sour cream and chives.
Whether you'll miss it or not, come the end of Monday, the days of the silver screen at Cavendish come to an end. As Porky Pig (and later Bugs Bunny) would famously remind us at the end of each Looney Tunes cartoon: 'That's all folks!'
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