All Hoyts movie theatres in New Zealand are reopening this weekend along with one of Event Cinemas' flagship venues and Rialto Newmarket.
These multiplexes join several smaller independent cinemas that started reopening over recent weeks as COVID-19 restrictions eased in Aotearoa.
While the pandemic has seen a dramatic slowdown in the rollout of major movies this year with many delayed indefinitely, Kiwi film fans have been given more of an idea this week of when they can expect to see new releases back in cinemas.
Universal Pictures announced it's releasing family film Trolls World Tour and musical romantic dramedy The High Note on July 2.
The first New Zealand film to open after the pandemic outbreak will be This Town, originally set to be released in April but now opening on July 30. Distributor Madman Entertainment told Newshub it anticipates the family murder comedy will open on a whopping 110 screens.
Christopher Nolan's Tenet is currently scheduled to release in New Zealand on July 16 before Niki Caro's Mulan on July 23, followed by the likes of Wonder Woman 1984, Antebellum, Bill and Ted Face the Music and The New Mutants in August.
But with cinemas open before those big new releases arrive on our shores, a diverse array of independent films, recent releases and cult favourite classics from the '80s and '90s are on offer in the meantime.
What's on at the movies this weekend?
Event's iconic The Embassy in Wellington reopens on Thursday and in addition to a selection of recent releases, it'll be playing classics Blade Runner and Wayne's World over the weekend.
Rialto Newmarket in Auckland is also opening its doors on Thursday, with a line-up including independent new releases Burden, Resistance, Bait and The Trip to Greece.
Event told Newshub it will stagger the reopening of its cinemas nationwide with all of them open by June 25. The chain plans on playing other retro films like Die Hard, Gremlins, The Matrix, Alien and Aliens along with the Harry Potter franchise in the coming weeks.
The website for Hoyts says it will continue to undertake extra hygiene measures during COVID-19 alert level 1, but all its cinemas will be open from Friday, June 12.
Hoyts lists the following films as 'now showing':
- 1917
- A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood
- The Assistant
- Bad Boys for Life
- The Big Trip
- Birds of Prey
- Bloodshot
- Bombshell
- The Call of the Wild
- The Current War
- Dark Waters
- Emma
- Fisherman's Friends
- Ford v Ferrari
- The Invisible Man
- Jojo Rabbit
- Jumanji: The Next Level
- Just Mercy
- Knives Out
- Love Sarah
- Midway
- Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
- Parasite
- The Peanut Butter Falcon
- Playing with Fire
- Richard Jewell
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Spies in Disguise
- Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
- The Trip to Greece
Session times are available on the Event, Hoyts and Rialto websites.
