Q: What led to the establishment of Scope Cinemas?

Naveed Cader (NC): Though most people overseas consider going to the cinema a weekly habit, Sri Lanka didn’t have a proper position for movies. Having experienced it myself while in the UK, I realised that there is a need to fill this gap in the entertainment industry. We wanted to offer Sri Lankans what people in other countries are enjoying and that ignited the creation of Scope Cinemas.

My grandfather who was a film pioneer inspired my passion for film and cinema. However, obstacles such as the insurgency and increasing bureaucracy resulted in my family withdrawing from the business. Liberty Cinema, which was the only link we had to the industry, was leased to another cinema operator.

When I finally decided to leave my family’s hospitality business and start my own company, it was as if the stars had aligned for the birth of Scope Cinemas. My partner Thushan had established his movie distribution company named Skyline Entertainment and the lease of Liberty Cinema was ending.

Thushan Meemanage (TM): At that time, most cinema exhibitors mistreated film distributors and abused movie assets to promote their brands. Malpractice in the industry was rampant. This strongly encouraged us to begin our cinema chain where we could follow studio guidelines, and safeguard the movies and their creative assets while building mutually beneficial relationships with Hollywood studios.

Q: How did Scope Cinemas become Sri Lanka’s number one cinematic experience in only two years?

NC: We were young, passionate and adamant to transform a struggling industry to greatness. And we were fixed on getting our basics right to ensure that the customer experience will always be our top priority.

Therefore, we reached out to international architects who had the experience and expertise we were looking for, and we met Eranna Yekbote. He is now the chief architect in all our projects. Yekbote recommended transforming Liberty Cinema into a two screen cinema instead of retaining its ODC-balcony setup.

With a fresh set of eyes focussing on customer experience, we strove to cater to every human touch point. Our launch at Colombo City Centre as the country’s first state-of-the-art multiplex marked our presence in the Sri Lankan film industry.

Q: What are the significant challenges that Scope Cinemas has encountered in its journey so far?

TM: As a young organisation, we have faced enormous obstacles. For instance, the business that resumed after the Easter Sunday bombings didn’t last long due to the COVID-19 lockdowns and two years later, we are in an economic recession.

These unforeseen challenges made it more difficult for a new organisation such as ours. However, we confronted those challenges by strategically scheduling movies, prices, promotions and other procedures while generating dynamic approaches.

NC: Our team’s carefully crafted strategies allow us to effectively handle any issue that arises. Challenges aren’t going to end but we won’t back away from the trials we encounter.

Q: How is Scope Cinemas keeping up with international standards?

TM: Our performance is evaluated at weekly team meetings, and this allows us to focus on improving our standards and finding ways to uplift the industry by introducing new experiences to our customers. We attend international trade fairs to stay updated on global technologies so that we can continuously improve our customers’ cinematic experiences.

Since we are keeping a keen eye on the global film industry, we manage to avoid lengthy intervals between movies, irrespective of their potential profitability, so that we can provide our audiences with a seamless cinematic experience.

NC: What’s important to us is executing our fundamentals accurately such as environmental cleanliness, customer satisfaction, food supply and consistency.

As an entertainment company, our team genuinely wishes to place a smile on people’s faces. We primarily invest in and focus on technologies to achieve this objective, and this sets us apart from our competitors.

Scope Cinemas will always invest in people and that’s what drives us to do what we are doing currently and will do in the future too.

Q: What are your organisation’s plans including Sri Lanka’s first ever IMAX screen?

NC: We are extremely proud of IMAX and the film format will hopefully be launched this year especially since the initial agreements are already signed.

We are looking at how we can grow as an exhibition company and expand to other locations in Sri Lanka. The opening of a single screen in Kiribathgoda was only the beginning of this initiative. We want to give every Sri Lankan the opportunity to enjoy an international entertainment experience. Therefore, we will look at key cities to replicate the model we have used in Colombo.

Our success and resilience as a young company are due to great teamwork since every member believes that Scope Cinemas should entertain people throughout Sri Lanka.

– Compiled by Dona Senara

Telephone – 2083065 | Email – info@scopecinemas.com | Website – www.scopecinemas.com