When the local cinemas in Guyana, with the exception of a few, closed their doors

in the early 1990s, it was a sad day for local cinema fans because going to the movies had become a major form of relaxation for most Guyanese. In fact, it became an integral part of the Guyanese culture.
Cinemas were flocked by the young and old and those in love, because there was a uniqueness about going out to the movies. Apart from viewing movies, it was a relatively inexpensive way to have a family outing. In the days when transportation was not readily available, particularly in the countryside cinema, lovers would walk or cycle for miles to and from cinemas.
Vendors of snacks were also helped tremendously by the cinema business as it was also a tradition for fans to purchase nuts, channa and other snacks to munch on while viewing movies. Some of these vendors actually made a living out of selling snacks at cinemas. So when the cinemas closed their doors not only was a major means of relaxation brought to an end, but also many were deprived of  livelihoods or had their incomes reduced.
The cinema owners argued that they were forced to close their doors because of illegal competition and the advent of television in Guyana; but that was a feeble argument if a closer and deeper analysis of the issue is done.
The reality is that cinema owners never made the effort to modernise and diversify their facilities when cinemas were “king”; as such, time caught up with them with their pants down. When they had the monopoly on movies in Guyana they made enormous profits and did not realise that one day they would face competition and as such never bothered to invest into making the cinemas modern and diversified enterprises. In fact, a common practice among cinema owners was to over-sell tickets and put fans to sit on drink boxes or some other form of improvised seating, Wash room facilities in many instances were deplorable and many cinemas were bug infested.
Fans were clearly being exploited. So the argument about unfair and illegal competition and television does not hold water because the facts will show that in modern and very developed countries despite much more competition, cinemas are still a big and thriving business because entrepreneurs have made the necessary changes and adjustments to meet completion, which our local cinema entrepreneurs were unwilling to do.
The facts and statistics tell the story. According to Nationmaster, the United States had 1,421,000,000 trips to the cinema in 2003. This is second in the world, only beaten by India, who had 2,860,000,000 trips to the cinema!
According to the Motion Picture Association of America Inc., global box office takings for all films in each country around the world reached US$32.6 billion in 2011, a 355 growth in five years because of increased markets including China and Russia.
Right in our CARICOM sister state Trinidad and Tobago, it is a similar story.
The good news is that we are seeing a rebirth of the Guyanese cinema through investments by a couple of investors who have embraced the modern concept of the cinema which entails not only showing movies but providing restaurants and other forms of service in a multi-complex structure.
On Saturday, the Panday family officially opened two theatres in the spanking new Avinash Entertainment Complex on Water Street, Georgetown. When completed, the complex will boast six cinemas.
The theatres, named Kara and Nash, are both state-of-the-art facilities, fully air-conditioned and equipped with modern technologies needed to project movies at a good quality.
According to Harry Panday, another four theatres will be opened in the next few months, two more indoor theatres, including a three dimensional (3D) movie theatre, and an outdoor drive-in cinema on the tarmac. Patrons here will be able to have dinner and view a film.
“We have at this Avinash Entertainment Complex, existing right now, two movie theatres which have shows on as we speak and the 3D movie theatre is in the making and it should have shows sometime in the latter part of next week,” he advised.
Currently Giftland  Officemax in conjunction with an overseas business group is constructing a theatre complex at Turkeyen.
So cinema fans should feel delighted that one of our major means of relaxation and entertainment has made a return to Guyana and it is hoped that other entrepreneurs will venture into similar projects in other parts of the country, so that Guyana could once proudly boast of a vibrant cinema business.