The decision affects a total of eight cinemas in the complexes that Cineplace operated in the La Vie shopping centres in Caldas da Rainha and Guarda, leaving both cities without regular cinema screenings.
A source from the management of the La Vie shopping centres told Lusa that the decision to close was based on a Special Revitalisation Plan presented by the exhibitor, taking into account that “the business model currently required involves guaranteeing minimum audience numbers, a condition that has been very difficult to achieve consistently in recent years”.
With the cinema operating contract with Cineplace now terminated, the management of these shopping centres said it is studying “new solutions and concepts that can meet the expectations of the local community”.
Cinema closures in Portugal
Of these 12 complexes, Cineplace closed the cinemas in Portimão and Algarve Shopping in Guia, both in the district of Faro, as well as Madeira Shopping in Funchal and Rio Sul Shopping in Seixal (Setúbal) in 2025.
Of the cinemas operated by Cineplace, the General Inspectorate of Cultural Activities (IGAC) had already told Lusa that the Ministry of Culture had authorised a request to decommission the four cinemas at Estação Viana Shopping in Viana do Castelo, at the request of the owners of this shopping centre.
The request for “allocation to a different type of activity” in six of the 12 Cineplace cinemas in Braga, in the Nova Arcada shopping centre, was still under review.
Reconfiguration in 2026
The commercial cinema landscape will undergo a different reconfiguration in 2026, due to the closure of several cinemas over the last few months, not only Cineplace but also NOS Lusomundo Cinemas.
This exhibitor closed five theatres at MaiaShopping (Porto), five theatres at Tavira Grand Plaza (Faro) and six theatres at Fórum Viseu, in addition to 12 theatres in the commercial area of the Alvalade stadium in Lisbon on 1 January.
Arrábida Shopping in Vila Nova de Gaia, the largest cinema complex in the country, operated by the exhibitor UCI, was authorised to discontinue cinema activity in nine of its 20 cinemas for reasons of “economic viability”, as explained by a source from IGAC to Lusa.
Government reaction
Because of all these cases, the Minister of Culture, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, announced the creation of a working group to reflect on cinema exhibition and the closure of cinemas in the country.
In December, Margarida Balseiro Lopes told Lusa that this working group, which includes IGAC and ICA, would “look at the history of the last three years” regarding requests for decommissioning, and that it would reach its conclusions in the first quarter of this year.
