LAHORE: The administration on Sunday announced closing the PAF cinema located in the Lahore Cantt area and converting it into an auditorium after completion of 10-year contract, sources told APP.

The Lahore Cantt cinema was fully renovated and upgraded after it had been leased out to a private operator for 10 years.

It had a capacity of 500 people in the auditorium, and all seats were sofa sittings. The cinema was launched in December 2010 in which many Pakistani celebrities participated.

Former owner of the cinema Nadir Latif told APP that the story of closing down of film and cinema industry was not a secret now, but the downturn in the industry had led to collapse of sectors associated with it, such as cinemas.

After revival of the film industry in Pakistan, people once again had started visiting cinemas in the past decade. Movies with good content, good actors, story and new technology had compelled viewers to visit cinemas.

Lahore had always been the centre of cinemas where people used to wait in lines to get a ticket.

PTV senior producer Agha Qaiser told APP that in the era of digitalization, the trend of going to the cinema had been waned, adding many cinema owners launched new businesses and converted their cinemas into petrol stations, showrooms, plazas, wedding halls and hostels.

According to details, in Lahore, there are more than 20 cinemas that are providing quality entertainment to people.

These cinemas display 2D and 3D movies at a reasonable price. People still have some options when they want to go out for recreation or watching their favourite movies.