Roxburgh Cinema
132 Scotland Street,
Roxburgh
9500
132 Scotland Street,
Roxburgh
9500
2 people
favorited this theater
Additional Info
Previous Names: Athenaeum Hall, Town Hall Cinema
Nearby Theaters
Roxburgh’s first cinema was in the Athenaeum Hall, opening 11th December 1897. Operators then were Northcote Kinematography Company, Disc Gaiety Company and finally in 1900, by Hull Pictures.
The present cinema opened in 1930 and was operated by the Roxburgh Borough Council from 1930 until 1985-87 and operated as the Town Hall Cinema with a seating capacity of 400. It was then taken over by an independent operator. Up-graded to stadium seating and Dolby-Stereo, a first for Central Otago in 1997. A new larger CinemaScope screen was installed in 2004. Roxburgh is the oldest surviving original cinema still open in the South Island. In July 2014 funding is being sought to upgrade to digital projection. On February 6, 2025 it was destroyed by fire. In 2026 the site is a vacant lot.
Contributed by
Bradley Knewstubb
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Recent comments (view all 5 comments)
The web sites mention above has moved following geocities closure. It is now located at View link
This cinema is being twinned
Hi there. This cinema is NOT closed. We are fundraising for digital projection equipment and are still screening 35mm films when we can source them and movies through our data projector. We will also have eCinema available soon, whilst we gather enough money to purchase digital projection equipment :)
Since the original overview was written it has since been confirmed that the Roxburgh cinema was opened on December 11, 1897, making it New Zealand’s oldest cinema.
The Roxburgh Cinema almost caught fire on the 3rd of January 2025, but thanks to it’s newly installed fire alarms Emergency services were about to put it out.
Unfortunately, just over a month later on February 6th 2025, the cinema caught fire again and was severely damaged. The building has since been demolished.