A Saturday morning fire at the Ciudad del Este shopping center in Curridabat has shut down one of Costa Rica’s two IMAX theaters until further notice. That leaves a single IMAX auditorium operating here. Nova Cinemas said its Curridabat complex, home to a hybrid IMAX theater with both standard stadium seating and a reclining VIP section, will remain closed indefinitely. The chain’s only other IMAX screen is at its Avenida Escazú complex on the west side of the capital.
The Fire Department received the alert at about 9:36 a.m. on Saturday, shortly before the mall was due to open to the public. Firefighters had the blaze under control by 10:08 a.m., according to the department. About 120 firefighters, both permanent and volunteer, responded with 16 units from stations across the Greater Metropolitan Area. The response included fire engines, advanced life support ambulances, aerial platform trucks and water tankers.
Damage estimates changed over the course of the day. The Fire Department’s preliminary assessment put the burned area at about 1,000 square meters (10,800 square feet). Jorge Lizano, captain of the Desamparados fire station, later said the fire had affected 2,700 square meters (29,000 square feet) of a building measuring between 6,000 and 7,000 square meters (64,600 to 75,300 square feet). Fire Department spokesman Alejandro Murillo gave the same 2,700-square-meter figure in a midday update.
The worst of the damage was concentrated in Kidsventure, a children’s play and arcade area with a food section, and in part of the cinema complex on the same upper level. Kidsventure said on social media that its facilities had burned completely and that it would wait for official findings before deciding its next steps.
The Costa Rican Red Cross said it cared for four people at the scene. Three were treated on site and one was taken to a medical center in stable condition. Grupo Zeta, which owns and manages the shopping center, said in a statement that no one was injured. The cause of the fire has not been determined. The Fire Department’s engineering unit began collecting evidence on Saturday and said yesterday that it would report findings as soon as it had additional news.
Ciudad del Este reopened partially yesterday, with visitors allowed only on the first floor. Management said the second floor, including the cinemas and Kidsventure, will stay closed until further notice, while other open businesses will operate normally. Grupo Zeta general manager Marco Garro said the company’s absolute priority is the safety of visitors, employees and commercial tenants. He said crews are focused on cleaning, inspecting and conditioning the areas surrounding the fire.
Tickets already purchased for Nova Curridabat screenings are not lost. Nova Cinemas said it will contact ticket holders directly, and the tickets can be used at any of the chain’s other complexes. Besides Curridabat, Nova operates cinemas at Avenida Escazú, Plaza Real in Alajuela, Plaza Moín in Limón and Garden Plaza in Tamarindo.
The Escazú complex brought IMAX to Costa Rica about 15 years before a 2024 renovation that expanded its IMAX auditorium to 323 seats. With Curridabat dark, Escazú is now the only place in Costa Rica to see a film in IMAX. Nova Cinemas has not said how long repairs will take or when the Curridabat complex might reopen.
