CJ CGV transforms multiplexes into sports, entertainment venues

• Published date: 09 March 2023
• Publication title: The Korea Times

Park Se-yeon visits a theater complex in downtown Seoul twice a week but doesn't sit in front of the big screen to watch movies. She goes down to the fourth basement level and heads to an indoor climbing gym.

The office worker in her late 20s has been taking climbing classes at Peakers, which opened in January 2022 after the renovation of two auditoriums of the CGV Piccadilly 1958 multiplex in the Jongno district.

Park says she chose the facility for two reasons: It is close to her office and provides set courses with a height of up to 5.7 meters, taller than most other gyms typically under 4 meters.

"For climbers, a higher wall means more boulder problems to solve. I think this gym offers a wider range of vertical courses for advanced climbers," Park said. "Being already in a building with a theater, I sometimes watch movies between training sessions."

The indoor climbing gym is one of several sports facilities and entertainment venues, including bowling pubs, a golf studio and cartoon cafes, that have been converted from auditoriums by CJ CGV, South Korea's largest multiplex operator, in recent years.

The transformation comes as the movie industry is still reeling from the pandemic-driven slump and streaming platforms continuing to take viewers away from traditional cinemas.

The industry leader has been in the red since 2020 in the wake of COVID-19, but its operating losses decreased from 241.1 billion won ($182.6 million) in 2021 to 76.8 billion won last year thanks to cost-cutting efforts and a hike in ticket prices.

The multiplex chain said turning its existing screens into leisure venues breathed new life into theaters struggling with declining clients.

"Although the number of total screens decreased following the renovations, the number of moviegoers did not dramatically fall," said Seo Ji-myeong, a public relations official at CJ CGV. "Actually, more customers visited...