New Chch movie theatre may open this month
The 1938 building in Marriner St has been completely renovated and is planned to open as the Silky Otter Hollywood on Saturday, June 28.
The opening date is dependent on receiving Christchurch City Council consent.
'It's great to finally get these things open, there's been a lot of build-up trying to get this cinema open,' said Silky Otter founder Neil Lambert.
'We've already got a really well-established and loved (cinema) in Christchurch. We wanted to make sure that this had that feel to it as well.'
The first movie to screen will be F1, which stars Brad Pitt as a Formula 1 driver who comes out of retirement.
'It's a classic Hollywood blockbuster. It has to be seen in a theatre, it can't be watched anywhere else,' said Lambert.
He intends the cinema to be open in time for the July school holidays and the release of other blockbusters, including Superman, Jurassic World Rebirth and How to Train Your Dragon.
Lambert says once the city council gives the green light, 'we will be pretty much ready to go'.
The recliner seats were installed last week, with Lambert now waiting on projectors and kitchen equipment.
The building will house three 48-seater luxury cinemas and a bar.
'It'll be unrecognisable when customers walk inside, I think everybody will be pleased with the results,' he said.
It was formerly home to Hollywood Cinemas, the oldest movie theatre in Christchurch, owned by cinema pioneer Lang Masters for more than six decades. Masters died, aged 92, in August 2023.
To pay homage, the new cinema will be renamed Silky Otter Hollywood.
'It's an institution in so we kind of wanted to keep it that way,' Lambert said.
The cinema will not host any major events for the opening, rather Lambert prioritised getting doors open as soon as possible.
'They (cinemas) are almost looked upon as community centres, strangely enough, so for me, the joy of opening cinemas is to really just get the public in.'
Sumner will be Silky Otter's eighth cinema in New Zealand. The first was built in Auckland in 2019 as a way to re-imagine the cinematic experience.
'A lot of the older picture houses were kind of falling away and not really keeping up with the times.
'It's a hospitality experience in a night out, that's what we're bringing to Sumner and it fits well into the community,' Lambert said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
2 days ago
- Otago Daily Times
Buddying-up programme well supported
From left, Little Buddy Oscar Cunningham, 9, and his Big Buddy Luke Houghton, and Little Buddy Lachlan Fisher, 11, and Big Buddy Josh Hennessy enjoying the flicks at Silky Otter last weekend. PHOTO: SUPPLIED Little and big buddies have been buddying-up in Queenstown for 24 years. Aimed at providing friendship and fun for children aged 4 to 12who need more adult support, the Whakatipu Buddy Programme currently has 15 Big Buddies matched with 15 Little Buddies. They do weekly one-on-one activities like walking the dog, swimming, biking and baking, and there's a group outing three or four times a year — last Sunday, 10 Big and Little Buddies attended a screening of SMURFS at the Silky Otter cinema complex. "We get a lot of support from the community, and thank Silky Otter for this wonderful opportunity," longtime programme coordinator Nanette Benington says. She adds Little Buddies can be referred by parents, schools or social agencies like Central Lakes Family Services. The average match length is two years, though "quite a few pairs still meet up outside the programme as friends once their official match has ended", Benington says. "We get wonderful feedback atreviews that children have improved social skills, better behaviour, increased confidence and have developed wonderful new interests. "One mother recently stated, 'the buddy programme changed my life, it has become one of the biggest supports I have had for my children as a sole parent'." Meanwhile, the next Big Buddies training programme is in October.
Otago Daily Times
18-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Poignant doco screening
PHOTO: ARCHIVE A documentary by two Kiwis about changes to a Japanese coastal village that was formerly a bustling whaling town is being screened at Queenstown's Silky Otter cinema next Sunday, July 27, at 7pm. Following the screening of Ayukawa: The Weight of a Life, Jim Speers, who wrote and directed the doco with Tu Rapana Neill, will be present for a conversation and a Q&A session. The screening's being hosted by Arrowtown's Superpartner Gallery, which this month is exhibiting accompanying photographic and text works by Speers, Neill and collaborative partner Amanda Wright. "Filmed over four years, the documentary explores the complex history and traditions of a Japanese coastal town with a deep connection to whaling culture, interweaving intimate conversations with striking cinematography," Superpartner director Marc Blake says. "The film observes the multitude of challenges faced by the small community, including economic and social change and the devastating 2011 earthquake and tsunami." Tickets, $15, are available at
Otago Daily Times
18-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
The comic book Superman returns
Photo: Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros. Pictures/TNS Director: James Gunn Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced Rating: (M) ★★★★ REVIEWED BY AMASIO JUTEL The Gunn didn't jam on the first entry to his brand-new DC Universe. The colourful flair of Superman (Rialto, Reading) is undoubtedly a positive indicator of the direction director-turned-chief executive of DC Studios, James Gunn, will take his new comic book sandbox. Donning the blue and red tights, prominently featuring the iconic red boxer briefs, Clark Kent teams up with journalism, justice and his juvenile super-pup, Krypto, to take to the skies and bring down Luthor Corp and its bloodthirsty international ally. As with any totemic media character, the central focus has been on whose face will be rendered in the Kryptonian armour. I can happily report that David Corenswet's punk-rocker Kal-El is the injection of himbo earnestness severely lacking from the character's previous keeper. Corenswet is a stark departure from the dark and moody Man of Steel, last portrayed by Henry Cavill, bringing a kindness and naivety, off which Gunn bounces his comic sensibilities. His chemistry with Brosnahan's Lane is electric, and paired off against Hoult's raging Lex Luthor, the central trio is cast to perfection. From the film's opening frame, Gunn subverts the franchise template. Superman effectively leapfrogs the "origin story" component of the caped crusader's tale, trusting that viewers will recognise the sensibilities of comic book storytelling that pre-MCU era comic readers grew up on. The film itself plays like a feature-length Saturday morning cartoon, much like Sam Raimi's 2000s Spider-Man trilogy: a close analogue in style. Gunn's universe feels real in its own cartoon logic — a world where Superman swoops in to save a single squirrel during a full-blown Kaiju attack. The film doesn't shy away from balancing G-rated elements with allegories for real-world violence and geopolitical conflict, nor from Deer Hunter-level traumatic violence. In the plot, a xenophobic smear campaign from Luthor's army of online trolls inconveniences our do-gooder protagonist, who is caught up in media turmoil for acting against the fictional Boravia's war crimes. From the newsroom with Lois and Jimmy to the Jarhanpur/Boravia border to a "pocket universe", Superman, the movie, delivers on the "woke" grievances voiced by right-wing commentators. Boravia's US-backed military has been mobilised against the unarmed civilian population of Jarhanpur, and Superman has been under fire for preventing civilian casualties. The film's most effective non-action scene plays between Lois and Clark (as Superman), her interviewing him on the authority he had as an American to interfere with the affairs of other nations. To Superman, the answer is plain: stopping a war. Subtextually, Gunn eloquently echoes the critiques of media outlets for their quote-unquote "objective reporting", instead of reflecting the human rights issues of the conflict. And, although the nuances of the conflict escape the plot, the final action scene directly mirrors the 2018 Gaza border protests, in which 189 Palestinians were killed. While Luthor has Superman subdued in Metropolis and the Boravian troops raise their weapons to fire on an unarmed boy, Green Lantern disperses the IDF-analogue with a wave of massive green middle fingers.
