Regent Cinema

The Regent Cinema was built for and operated by independent operators and opened on 6th October 1930 with John Boles in "The Desert Song". It is located on a prominent corner site at Kingsway and Diamond Avenue.

There was an entrance rotunda which was decorated in Columbian Pine, and inside the auditorium seating was provided for 650 in the stalls and 500 in the circle. The auditorium was decorated in a ‘Modern’ French style.

It was taken over by the Newcastle based Essoldo chain and re-named Essoldo from 5th March 1961. The Essoldo closed on 31st July 1965 with Ursula Andress in "She" and Jimmy Savile in "Pop Gear". It was converted into an Essoldo bingo club, using the stalls area only.

It re-opened as the Regent Cinema again on 24th March 1988 with Kevin Costner in "No Way Out", in a 200 seat screen located in the former circle area. The stalls continued as a Silverline Bingo Club, sharing the corner entrance with the cinema. Later, the bingo club closed and that area was converted into Fagins Bar, and the cinema entrance was moved to a former circle exit on Kingway. Fagins Bar appears to have closed around the end of 1992, but the Regent Cinema stayed open for a while and closed in 1993 with Richard Gere in "Somersby".

The building remain shuttered until 2003 when Mr Asif Sahil purchased it for his small independent Cineplex circuit. Roof repairs were carried out, Dolby stereo sound, air conditioning, a new large screen and stadium seating were installed. It re-opened as the Cineplex on 2nd April 2004 with Eddie Murphy in "The Haunted Mansion". The former stalls area remained unused and a take-a-way kebab restaurant opened in the former entrance foyer.

Unfortunately, the Cineplex was not successful and closed around March 2005. The building now sits vacant.

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