If movie theatres are dead, as many a mainstream media outlet will have you believe, then you wouldn’t know it from watching recent moves by Golden Village in Singapore and Roxy Cinemas in Dubai, both of whom are doubling down on the business.

In Singapore, Golden Village is opening a new luxurious eight screen multiplex in Bugis+, a 10-story shopping mall located in the Bugis district. The cinema boasts high end interior design elements including a dome over its center atrium and a restaurant on the second floor named Azul, offering an extensive menu of Spanish and Mexican cuisine. Though comfortable plush seats and Barco cinema laser projection systems can be found in each auditorium, two have specifically been built out by GV as Gold Class Express halls, for patrons who want a truly VIP, high-end experience. Golden Village at Bugis+ opened on 10 March.

Over in Dubai, United Arab Emirates Roxy is installing the largest premium large format screen in the Middle East and North Africa. At 423 square meters the Roxy Xtreme screen at the Dubai Hills Mall is the size of two tennis courts, measuring 28 meters by 15.1 meters. To light up such a large screen Roxy is relying on an NEC dual laser projection system. Roxy opened its Dubai Hills Mall location in August of 2022.