The cinema is operated by the Cinamon chain, and has been closed since Wednesday, Delfi reported, and the T1 Keskus as landlord says it is planning to let the space out to another tenant.

"On Tuesday, T1 Center sent a notice of termination of the lease agreement to Cinamon's operating company Saturn Investments OÜ. The reason for this was Saturn Investments OÜ's long-term and worsening rent arrears. As of Wednesday, there will be no film screenings or other events in the cinema premises," said T1 Keskus CEO Tarmo Hõbe.

Hõbe added T1's plans for leasing out the commercial space will be discussed in more detail in the coming months.

Cinamon's parent company's debts had been mounting up, Hõbe had earlier said. "Both the Estonian and global cinema business have been undergoing changes in recent years. Unfortunately, the past few years have been commercially very difficult for Cinamon. Saturn Investments' debt to the landlord has been steadily increasing and no solution or improvement in the situation was in sight. T1 had no other option but to terminate the lease agreement."

The company reportedly owes €255,634 to the Tax and Customs Board (MTA). Cinamon is part of an international chain, with its operations in Estonia owned by Saturn Investments OÜ.

Founded in 2011 and with 22 people on payroll as of the end of March, Saturn Investments is mainly involved in movie screenings.

The company has not submitted a financial report for the 2024 fiscal year. In 2023, Saturn's sales revenue stood at €2.7 million, and the company reported a net profit of €1.3 million, up from a loss of almost as much in 2022.

Cinamon had previously operated a multiplex cinema in Tartu, but this closed in 2020, while its cinema in Tallinn's Solaris Center was taken over by Apollo several years ago. In 2022, Cinamon announced it was pulling out of running the IMAX cinema at the Kosmos movie theater on Pärnu mnt in Tallinn. That facility is now a cultural center. This left only the T1 Mall cinema still being run by Cinamon, though the company has also operated the Telliskivi open-air cinema in the Telliskivi Creative City (Loomelinnak).

Apollo to rule Estonian movie theater market

Apollo Kino Baltics' sales and marketing director, Maarja Kaalep, acknowledged that the departure of competitor Cinamon from the market is regrettable, as competition is always welcome.

Although the modern cinema space becoming available at the T1 Mall of Tallinn is appealing, the news of the chain's closure came as a surprise to Apollo Kino and no expansion plans in that direction have been made for now. According to Kaalep, the owners of the center likely already have their own vision for the premises, but if a proposal were made, Apollo would be ready to carefully weigh all the pros and cons.

Despite the rise of streaming platforms, Kaalep does not see Netflix and other at-home options as direct competitors. In her view, true film enthusiasts consume content through both channels. "If there are good films, people will come to the cinema," she emphasized. After a period when many major releases were postponed, this year's distribution lineup is very promising.

Domestic productions continue to be highly valued among Estonian audiences. Films that resonate with viewers and feature well-known actors tend to perform particularly well.

Article was updated to add comments from competitor Apollo Kino.

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