Star Theatre ready to shine again as cinemas reopen

A popular theatre will reopen this week with a list of recent classics to enjoy for film-lovers who have been starved of the big screen for so long. WHAT’S SHOWING, HOW TO BOOK

Star Theatre general manager Katrine Elliot who is offering take away Choc Tops and Popcorn for Night Out at Your Place at Invermay. Picture Chris Kidd

LAUNCESTON’S Star Theatre is set to fire up its projectors again this Friday, as it reopens after a lengthy pandemic shutdown.

Cinema co-owner Paul Lee-Archer said a deep clean had been done of the theatre and some seating had been removed to assist with social distancing.

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“We are limited to 40 people per screening for now but luckily we have a very big auditorium, which makes it easy to distance people,” he said.

Alfie Allen (centre) in JoJo Rabbit. Picture: Supplied

Very few new films have been released since the global COVID-19 pandemic started but the Star will reopen with a selection of favourites for film-starved punters to enjoy on the big screen, including Gran Torino, Jojo Rabbit, A Star is Born and Sonic the Hedgehog.

During the shutdown, the Star Theatre Cafe remained open for takeaway coffee and snacks and they organised “Night out at your place” events every few weeks, in which people would sit down to watch the same movie simultaneously at home, streamed from their preferred service.

Participants were encouraged to dress up and share pictures and discussions on Facebook, and often came to the cinema to buy their popcorn and choc tops to take home.

Despite people now being so used to streaming at home, Mr Lee-Archer was confident cinemas will bounce back after the pandemic.

“Our whole business model was always based on giving people that social experience of going to the cinema and I think people are craving that after these restrictions.”

Tickets will go on sale from tomorrow (Tuesday, June 9) and customers are advised to book online and book early, due to reduced seating capacity.