Overview
Cinephiles of Brisbane, prepare to starting spend a whole heap of time at Palace Centro. If you've dropped by recently, you would've noticed that the New Farm venue is in the midst of a massive makeover — and given that they're adding three more screens, and increasing their movie lineup as a result, we really do mean massive.
Come December when the renovations open to eager film-goers — and when the cinema celebrates its 16th birthday — the James Street mainstay will boast seven theatres. Two existing screens have been torn down to make way for five new darkened rooms, which will seat between 40 to 80 patrons, and allow Centro to boost their selection of content. That includes their range of Centro exclusives, which have included Swiss Army Man and High-Rise in recent months. The venue will still house a 35mm projector, too, for retrospectives and festivals.
Across town in Petrie Terrace, Centro's sibling cinema at Barracks hasn't escaped the revamping bug either. Courtesy of new couches and carpet, the cinema's lobby has undergone a soft refurbishment, making having a pre-film drink even comfier.
At Centro in particular, the renovations come at a time when the area around the venue is changing rapidly, with the under-construction space immediately across the road about to become The Calile, a new resort-like haunt. Palace is expanding rapidly interstate — announcing new cinemas in Sydney's Double Bay and Chippendale just this year — so future Brisbane Palace expansions aren't out of the question.
Palace Centro's renovations will be completed by December 2016. It's partially open now at 39 James Street, Fortitude Valley.