Full details: New cinema planned for Gold Coast shopping centre The Strand at Coolangatta
The Gold Coast has had a long love affair with the movies but not every cinema is successful. This is the inside story of why these Coast landmarks failed. RARE PHOTOS
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AN old silver screen is getting a new life.
The Bulletin this week revealed that Cinebar Licensed Cinemas will redevelop the former BCC Cinema space inside Coolangatta’s The Strand complex, six months after its closure.
The new theatre, to be known as Cinebar Coolangatta, will be aimed at the luxury experience and built around “state-of-the-art digital projection and sound” and “restaurant-quality meals, cocktails, wines and beers”.
The former Events Cinemas-operated complex closed on March 9 after nearly 32 years of operation.
At the time, the company said it was “based on our commitment to continue reinvesting in Event Cinemas Robina and Event Cinemas Pacific Fair.”
It is the latest twist and turn in the life of the southern Gold Coast cinema complex, which has been a mainstay for 98 years.
The first iteration of the Coolangatta Cinema, The Capitol Theatre, was opened in 1924 by Ben-Hur star Ramon Novarro.
It was demolished in 1989 along with the nearby Regal Theatre to make way for the development of the Coolangatta Showcase Shopping Centre on the same site, which included the new Coolangatta cinemas.
They were opened by Birch Carroll and Coyle on April 4, 1990.
The Gold Coast’s love affair with movies dates back more than a century, with theatres popping up in many different locations over the decades.
Many have closed over the years but memories of cinemagoers remain strong, even decades later.
Here are five cinemas locals miss most:
Surfers Paradise
By the mid-1980s cinemas were a profitable business, with Gold Coasters flocking to see blockbusters. Hoyts opened a cinema in central Surfers Paradise in 1985 on the corner of Clifford St and Surfers Paradise Blvd.
With a McDonald’s and Pancakes in Paradise, it proved a popular hangout from the 1980s through to the late 1990s. But with cinemas open at Robina, Pacific Fair, Australia Fair, Mermaid Beach and Harbour Town, the market became crowded and the Surfers Paradise cinema closed in April 2000.
Mermaid Beach
The existing building opened in the early 1980s and replaced the old cinema.
The newest theatre cost $1.9 million, featured just two theatres and was initially known simply as the Mermaid Twin Cinema.
The strong crowds led its owners to launch a $1 million expansion in late 1983 when a third theatre was added, seating an extra 336 people.
In 1987 it was renamed the Mermaid Cinema Centre and grew to five theatres with room for 1600 people.
Opening in December 1987, it was the largest cinema complex in the state at the time.
But a decade later the opening of cinemas at Pacific Fair and Robina saw Mermaid become a second-run theatre and ultimately close in the early 2000s.
The site today is now a medical centre, though it is rumoured parts of the cinema survive.
Old Pacific Fair cinema
When it opened in early 1997, the Pacific Fair cinema was the biggest on the Gold Coast. With 12 screens, its opening was a major event and coincided with that year’s 20th anniversary re-release of Star Wars, which was the only movie to screen there on day one.
During its heyday it became well-known for its movie marathons and also hosted hundreds of Star Wars fans again in 2005 for the midnight premier of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
It soon became a popular hangout for teenagers through the late 1990s and 2000s but fell out of favour in the early 2010s once the new Robina Cinema opened. It closed during the shopping centre’s redevelopment and reopened in the mid-2010s.
The Regent
The Regent was the Gold Coast’s first cinema, built on Southport’s Davenport St and screened its first film on October 1, 1912.
The theatre was originally known as the Regent and first screened a film about the then-recent sinking of the Titanic, which was interrupted by a fault, forcing staff to send the audience home.
The cinema was expanded between 1918 and 1920 to increase its capacity to 1000 seats in response to the medium’s growing popularity.
Sound was introduced to film in 1929 and the building soon received an RCA Photophone sound system, which led its owners to alter its name to the ‘Regent Talkies’.
Its closure was announced in April 1965 to make way for a £300,000 development.
Southport Pier
As demand for movies continued to grow, a second cinema was opened on the second Southport pier in 1927. It burnt down in 1932 but was soon rebuilt as the Pier Talkies and remained in service until the pier was demolished in 1969 by the Gold Coast City Council.
Revealed: ‘Stylish’ new cinema planned for Coast shopping centre
The Gold Coast will get its second new cinema in less than a year, with plans unveiled for a new theatre complex inside a major Gold Coast shopping centre.
Cinebar Licensed Cinemas will redevelop the former BCC Cinema space inside Coolangatta’s The Strand complex, six months after its closure.
The new theatre, to be known as Cinebar Coolangatta, will be aimed at the luxury experience and built around “state-of-the-art digital projection and sound” and “restaurant-quality meals, cocktails, wines and beers”.
Centre manager Kathryn Mills said cinemas were a key attraction for locals.
“(Event) Cinemas had called The Strand at Coolangatta home for more than 30 years,” she said.
“After their departure, we knew our Southern Gold Coast Community needed a quality cinema offering and we wanted to make sure we could bring this experience to our community.
“Early works for Cinebar Coolangatta have commenced, with visible works to commence shortly.”
The new cinema will open in early 2023.
Three cranes will be brought into Griffith Street in coming weeks as part of the construction works.
The former Events Cinemas-operated complex closed on March 9 after nearly 32 years of operation.
At the time, the company said it was “based on our commitment to continue reinvesting in Event Cinemas Robina and Event Cinemas Pacific Fair.”
The first iteration of the Coolangatta Cinema, The Capitol Theatre, was opened in 1924 by Ben-Hur star Ramon Novarro.
It was demolished in 1989 along with the nearby Regal Theatre to make way for the development of the Coolangatta Showcase Shopping Centre on the same site, which included the new Coolangatta cinemas. They were opened by Birch Carroll and Coyle on April 4, 1990.
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