1896–1908
The moving pictures arrive
Christchurch sees its first kinematograph demonstration in 1896. By 1908, the Colosseum is operating as the city’s first regular picture theatre.
The wider Christchurch story
Christchurch goes
to the pictures.
The Regent, Savoy, Avon and WestEnd are four doors into a much bigger story—from the first flickering films to the cinemas still welcoming audiences today.
Context, not a fifth box
The city around the collection.
This is not a complete directory of every Christchurch theatre. It is the connecting story: what came before the four, what changed as they closed, and how cinema-going found new homes.
1896 to today
One city. Many screens.
The collection stays centred on four remembered cinemas. These milestones explain the changing world around them.
1912–1918
A city builds picture houses
Queen’s—the first purpose-built Christchurch cinema—is followed by the Grand, Strand, Crystal Palace and other new theatres clustered around Cathedral Square.
1915
Collection cinema · WestEnd
Everybody’s opens
The same Cathedral Square building will become the Tivoli in 1934 and the WestEnd in 1971.
1917
Collection cinema · Savoy
The Liberty opens
Christchurch’s largest picture theatre becomes the Savoy after a major renovation in 1953.
1930
Collection cinema · Regent
The Regent creates a night sky indoors
The Royal Exchange building is transformed into a Spanish-inspired picture palace with stars and moving clouds above its auditorium.
1935
Collection cinema · Avon
The Avon joins an Art Deco boom
The Avon, State and Mayfair open during one of Christchurch cinema’s richest years.
1960s–1989
The old single-screen era recedes
Television changes movie-going. The Plaza and State close, the Mayfair becomes Cinerama, and the Academy gives arthouse film a permanent Christchurch home. The Avon closes in 1989.
1993–2005
The multiplex moves beyond the Square
Hoyts Moorhouse opens as the Savoy and WestEnd approach their final screenings. Northlands, The Palms and Riccarton establish the suburban-mall cinema era.
2011
The earthquakes break the central-city chain
The Regent, Hoyts Moorhouse, Metro Gold, Academy and Cloisters are among the cinemas lost or displaced. The four collection buildings are now all gone.
2016–today
A new mix of multiplex and boutique cinema
Deluxe, EntX, Lumière and Silky Otter join relocated favourites including Academy Gold and Alice. The 1938 Hollywood in Sumner begins a new chapter.
The ritual continues
Ten cinema homes today.
Christchurch now has a near-even mix of large multiplexes and independent or boutique cinemas—proof that the city’s relationship with the pictures did not end with the old buildings.
- Alice Cinemas
- Academy Gold
- Deluxe Cinemas
- Lumière Cinemas
- Hoyts EntX
- Hoyts Northlands
- Hoyts Riccarton
- Reading at The Palms
- Silky Otter Wigram
- Silky Otter Hollywood
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