SF Group is a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

and entertainment venue operator in

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

. Behind the combined operations of

Major Cineplex Major Cineplex Group Public Co. Ltd. is the largest operator of movie theaters in both Thailand and Laos. Combined with its subsidiary, EGV Entertainment, the company has 490 screens around Thailand. Among its properties is Thailand's largest multi ...

and the EGV chain, SF Group is the second-largest cinema chain in Thailand, with more than 379 screens in 63 locations.

History

SF Corporation Public Company Limited, based in Bangkok, Thailand, was established as a limited company in 1998 by Suwat Thongrompo. The Thongrompo family is from

Eastern Thailand Eastern Thailand is a region of Thailand bordering Cambodia on the east, North-Eastern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand in the north, and central Thailand on the west. Geography Eastern Thailand lies between the Sankamphaeng Range, which forms a ...

, where its Samarn Film Co operated cinemas since the 1970s in

Chonburi Chonburi ( th, ชลบุรี, , IAST: , ) is the capital of Chonburi Province and Mueang Chonburi District in Thailand. It is about 100 km southeast of Bangkok, on the coast of the Gulf of Thailand. Its name means 'city of water'. Chonb ...

Rayong Rayong ( th, ระยอง, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of ''tambons'' Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within ...

and

Chanthaburi Chanthaburi ( th, จันทบุรี, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in the east of Thailand, on the banks of the Chanthaburi River. It is the capital of the Chanthaburi Province and the Mueang Chanthaburi District. The town covers t ...

. The company become known as SF Cinema City in 1999 when it opened its first multiplex in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

on the seventh floor of

MBK Center MBK Center, also known as Mahboonkrong ( th, มาบุญครอง; , ), is a large shopping mall in Bangkok, Thailand. At eight storeys, the center contains around 2,000 shops, restaurants and service outlets. In 2009, MBK Center manage ...

.Amnatcharoenrit, Bamrung (May 24, 2002
"New family in the frame"
''

Bangkok Post The ''Bangkok Post'' is an English-language daily newspaper published in Bangkok, Thailand. It is published in broadsheet and digital formats. The first issue was sold on 1 August 1946. It had four pages and cost one baht, a considerable amount ...

'', via Siamfuture.com. The company is still centered mainly in Bangkok and the Eastern Seaboard provinces, although in 2005 the company expanded to

southern Thailand Southern Thailand, Southern Siam or Tambralinga is a southernmost cultural region of Thailand, separated from Central Thailand region by the Kra Isthmus. Geography Southern Thailand is on the Malay Peninsula, with an area of around , bounded ...

, opening SFX Central Festival cinema in Phuket Town. An SF Cinema City branch in the Jungceylon complex on

Patong Beach Patong ( th, ป่าตอง , ) refers to the beach and town on Phuket's west coast. It is the main tourist resort on the island of Phuket, and is the centre of Phuket's nightlife and shopping. The beach became popular with Western tourists, e ...

followed in October 2007. Also in 2007, the company undertook an overhaul branding change, with the corporate name SF Group adopted in March 2007. - ‘SF World Cinema ‘, ‘SFX Cinema’, ‘SF Cinema city’, ‘Emprive Cineclub’ - Apart from the cinema, the company also own and operate Food and Beverage business, Bowling business under ‘SF Strike Bowl’ brand, Rental Space business, Advertising business for both screen and non-screen surroundings and other related business. SF Group employ more than 3,000 employees and operate more than 379 screens throughout Thailand.

Theaters and locations

{{main, List of cinemas in Thailand#SF Group, l1=SF Group cinemas As of 2018, SF Group has 63 branches throughout Thailand, mainly concentrated in Bangkok and in

eastern Thailand Eastern Thailand is a region of Thailand bordering Cambodia on the east, North-Eastern Thailand, Northeastern Thailand in the north, and central Thailand on the west. Geography Eastern Thailand lies between the Sankamphaeng Range, which forms a ...

. The chain's brands include: * SF World Cinema (SFW) - The group's flagship cinema located at

CentralWorld CentralWorld ( th, เซ็นทรัลเวิลด์, styled as centralwOrld) is a shopping plaza and complex in Bangkok, Thailand. It is the ninth largest shopping complex in the world. The complex, which includes a hotel and office t ...

Shopping Complex. * SFX Cinema (SFX) – "Boutique Chic" are more luxurious. * SF Cinema (SFC) – Large multiplex theaters that are packaged with restaurants, bowling lanes and karaoke booths, usually taking up an entire floor in a shopping centre. * Emprivé Cineclub - The group's luxurious flagship cinema located at Emporium Shopping Complex. * SF Multiplex (SFM) – These are smaller multiplexes located in

Future projects

Expansion plans by SF Group includes: * SF Cinema Chumphon – To be located at Tesco Lotus Chumphon,

Bowling, karaoke and gaming business

* SF City - An entertainment complex bundled with

bowling Bowling is a target sport and recreational activity in which a player rolls a ball toward pins (in pin bowling) or another target (in target bowling). The term ''bowling'' usually refers to pin bowling (most commonly ten-pin bowling), though ...

alleys,

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

rooms and

video arcade An amusement arcade (often referred to as a video arcade, amusements or simply arcade) is a venue where people play arcade games, including arcade video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, merchandisers (such as c ...

s. ** SF City - Jungceylon, Phuket Thailand * SF Strike Bowl -

Bowling alley A bowling alley (also known as a bowling center, bowling lounge, bowling arena, or historically bowling club) is a facility where the sport of bowling is played. It can be a dedicated facility or part of another, such as a Meetinghouse, clubhous ...

chain with more than 210 lanes. ** SF Strike -

, Bangkok, (28 lanes) ** SF Strike - Jungceylon, Phuket (16 lanes). ** SF Strike Bowl - The Mall Bangkapi, Bangkok (38 lanes). ** SF Strike Bowl - The Mall Ngamwongwan, Bangkok (42 lanes) ** SF Strike Bowl - The Mall Bangkae, Bangkok (28 lanes) ** SF Strike Bowl - The Mall Ramkhamhaeng, Bangkok (26 lanes) ** SF Strike Bowl - Central Plaza Rattanathibeth, Nonthaburi (8 lanes) ** SF Strike Bowl - Central Festival Pattaya Beach, Chonburi (16 lanes) * SF Music City -

Karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music is ...

rooms, with up to 100 in some locations, mostly tied to SF Cinema City and SF Strike Bowl locations. ** SF Music City - MBK Center (100 rooms). The facility also has a vocal training and a dance training school located within the same premises. ** SF Music City - The Mall Bangkapi, Bangkok (40 rooms) ** SF Music City - The Mall Ngamwongwan, Bangkok (18 rooms) ** SF Music City - The Mall Bangkae, Bangkok (16 rooms) ** SF Music City - Central Plaza Rattanathibeth, Nonthaburi (28 rooms)

Restaurants

* Eat @ W Restaurant chain with the first location on the 9th floor of SF World Cinema,

Bangkok.

Collectibles

For each ticket purchased at some SF Cinema City and SFX branches, the purchaser receives a business-card-sized replica of a

movie poster A film poster is a poster used to promote and advertise a film primarily to persuade paying customers into a theater to see it. Studios often print several posters that vary in size and content for various domestic and international markets. The ...

backed by a magnet. The magnets are collectors' items and are sold second-hand by movie-memorabilia dealers.

Digital Cinemas

SF Group offers digital cinema screening using Christie's CP 2K Digital Cinema Technology at the following locations: *SF Cinema MBK Center (Cinema No. 2, 5, 7) *SF Cinema The mall Bangkapi (Cinema No. 13) *SFX Cinema The mall Ngamwongwan (Cinema No.9) *SF Cinema The Mall Thapra (Cinema No. 3) *SFX Central Lat Phrao (Cinema No. 6, 8) * Emprive'Cineclub Emporium Sukhumvit (Cinema No.5) SF Group also offers digital cinema screening using Barco's DLP Digital Cinema Technology bundled with Dolby Digital 3D Screening Capability at the following locations: *SF World Cinema Central World (Cinema No. 8, No. 12, No. 14) *SFX Cinema Central Lat Phrao (Cinema No. 7) *SF Cinema The mall Bangkapi (Cinema No. 14) *SF Cinema MBK Center (Cinema No. 8) *SFX Cinema Central Pattaya Beach (Cinema No. 5, No. 7) *SF Cinema Citymall Sunee Tower Ubon Ratchathani (Cinema No.7) *SF Cinema BigC Supercenter Samut Songkhram (Cinema No.3) SF Group currently owns a total of 14 digital projectors which is by far the largest number to date in Thailand.

Shopping Mall

* MAYA Lifestyle Center – The SF Group's new shopping centre, Located in

Chiang Mai Province Chiang Mai ( th, เชียงใหม่, ; nod, , ) is the largest Province (''changwat'') of Thailand. It lies in upper northern Thailand and has a population of 1.78 million people. It is bordered by Chiang Rai to the northeast, Lam ...

References

Cinema chains in Thailand Companies based in Bangkok Entertainment companies established in 1999 1999 establishments in Thailand