Independent Cinemas with Interesting and Unexpected Screenings
The kind of cinemas where the screening is only half the reason to show up, these characterful picture palaces are high on vibes.
These aren't multiplexes running the same eight release-day sessions on a loyalty app. Several of these venues are still run by the family that originally opened, saved or rebuilt them. The programming leans into arthouse, retrospective and classic film as much as anything new — the kind of curation that only happens when the team is actually obsessed with cinema.
Our spread runs from a converted Irish Club ballroom to a hidden 1940s trade-screening theatrette beneath a former Hollywood studio building, to one of Melbourne's last surviving drive-ins and a Randwick institution that only exists because Mel Gibson helped save it from demolition in the 1980s. Presented by Honda ZR-V, here's where film buffs go to be part of cinema history, not just catch the latest sequel.
Read other guides in our A to Z with Honda ZR-V series:
After-Work Drink Spots to Meet Your Friends and Wind Down the Day
Cheap Eats That Over-Deliver On Their Modest Price Tag
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Things to DoThe Elizabeth Picture Theatre
175 Elizabeth Street, Brisbane City
A restored Irish Club ballroom now holds five screens, including gold-class Royal Rooms with seat-side food service.
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Things to DoAustralian Cinémathèque
Stanley Place, South Brisbane
QAGOMA’s screening rooms pair major exhibitions with overlooked film histories, backed by live accompaniment on a 1929 organ.
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Things to DoAngelika Cinemas
148 Logan Road, Woolloongabba
Brisbane’s outpost of the New York arthouse chain was its first cinema anywhere outside the US, with cocktails served table-side.
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Things to DoRitz Cinemas
39-47 St. Pauls Street, Randwick
Randwick’s Art Deco cinema, saved from demolition in the 1980s with help from Mel Gibson, still screens on 35mm and 70mm film.
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Things to DoHayden Orpheum Picture Palace
380 Military Road, Cremorne
Sydney’s 1935 Art Deco cinema still has its original 1925 Wurlitzer organ played live before selected weekend screenings.
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BarGolden Age Cinema and Bar
Paramount House, 80 Commonwealth Street, Surry Hills
Underground beneath the old Paramount Pictures building in Surry Hills, this 60-seat theatrette pairs curated films with a cocktail.
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Things to DoSun Theatre Yarraville
8 Ballarat Street, Yarraville
Yarraville’s 1938 Art Deco cinema sat derelict for two decades before its current owners rebuilt it into eight boutique screens and couches.
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Things to DoLido Cinemas
675 Glenferrie Road, Hawthorn
Once a dance hall, mini-golf course and cabaret theatre, this 1912 building is now an eight-screen artiplex with a rooftop cinema.
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Things to DoCoburg Drive-In
155 Newlands Rd, Coburg
One of only three drive-ins left in Melbourne, Coburg has run continuously since 1965 and still spans three screens under the stars.
This guide was produced in partnership with Honda ZR-V. To learn more about the ultimate car for urban discovery, click here.