El Dorado Abu Dhabi Shuts Down
- After nearly half a century, El Dorado cinema shut its doors and switched off the pink and blue neon lights that have brightened Electra street for decades
- El Dorado would have celebrated its 47th anniversary on 22nd November 2017
- The last show at El Dorado, the Malayalam blockbuster Villain, played on 4th November at 10:30 PM
- At the time of closing, El Dorado’s staff were reduced to six, all of whom will be returning to their home country and pursue local occupations
- El Dorado was the first indoor cinema in the capital city of Abu Dhabi, opened on 22nd November 1970
- The first movie ever screened at El Dorado was Patton, the 1970 Academy Award winning film about the American World War Two General
- El Dorado cinema was started by Atef Karam, supported by his father and air conditioning engineer Ferdinand Lama
- El Dorado was named after the newest cinema then on Beirut’s Hamra street, which stood alongside the Piccadilly, the Versailles and the Saroulla
- El Dorado Cinema was located on Electra Street in downtown Abu Dhabi, housing two screens
