Scala Cinema (Bangkok)

[1] Scala opened on 31 December 1969 with a screening of The Undefeated (1969), a US Western starring John Wayne and Rock Hudson.

It closed its doors when its lease expired in May 2018, but was reopened in 2019 as a performing arts venue, Lido Connect.

[5][2] The Scala was the last remaining standalone single-screen cinema in Bangkok, offering film aficionados a retro film-going experience.

[6] The president of Apex attributed Scala's closing to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and changing consumer preferences.

[12] By 2019, only three remained in Thailand: the Scala in Bangkok, Det Udom Mini Theatre in Ubon Ratchathani, and Chum Phae Cineplex in Khon Kaen.

[15] "Stand-alone theaters used to be city landmarks and the only mass entertainment place for people of all ages," he observed.

According to the authors, stand-alone theaters flourished in Thailand between the 1950s and the 1970s before seeing attendance decline in the 1980s with the coming of VHS tapes.