Cathay Cineplexes' closure isn't about streaming killing cinema—it's about cinema accidentally becoming a $100+ luxury experience for families while half-empty Singapore theaters contrast sharply with massive cinema expansion in India and Indonesia. The real story is pricing: when you're competing with weekend getaways instead of casual entertainment, discretionary spending cuts hit first. For production companies like Wave Films, this means pivoting to dual-distribution strategies, focusing on thriller and sci-fi genres that work across both theatrical and streaming platforms, and expanding into growing Asian markets where cinema remains accessible family entertainment. The future belongs to agile content creators who understand both theatrical premiums and streaming economics—cinema isn't dying, it's transforming from mass commodity to curated experience.
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