Dan Chu Cinema, one of the oldest in Hanoi, has just been shut down after years of poor business.

The state-owned cinema posted a short announcement on its Facebook fan page on November 23, announcing its closure.

In an interview with Vietnamnet's reporter about the news, Nguyen Tuan Anh, vice director of Cinema 1 Vietnam which manages the cinema said that they had decided to stop operations after a long time of prolonged losses.

"We’re very sorry to take this decision," Anh said. "We’ve tried to run this loss-making cinema for a long time but there's no chance of improvement. And we can't carry on."

Opened in 1954 in Kham Thien Street, Dan Chu Cinema used to be one of the most popular venues for cinema lovers in the capital, especially during the 1990s. When the Cinema 1 Vietnam took it over in 1998, Dan Chu became the first cinema in town to show big hits from Hollywood.

However, like many other old state-run cinemas in Hanoi, Dan Chu has been facing difficulties attracting audiences as more privately-owned cineplexes opened with better film and sound technology.

The 360-seat cinema saw a sharp fall in number in cinema-goers despite efforts to lower ticket prices, upgrade facilities and improve services.