Palace Cinemas Is Opening a New 12-Screen Theatre in Melbourne's West

Movie buffs in Melbourne's west are getting a new cinema to call their own, with a 12-screen complex on its way to Moonee Ponds.

Due to open on busy Puckle Street in 2019, the theatre will be owned and operated by arthouse chain Palace Cinemas. The space will include three 'platinum' screens as well as an outdoor cinema space, and will presumably feature the same extensive bar offerings as other Palace locations.

The cinema will be just one aspect of a new retail, leisure, hospitality and residential development from Giancorp Property Group, which will also boast a 50-room residential hotel and a rock-climbing wall.

"We have longed for a home in Melbourne's west for a while now," said Palace CEO Benjamin Zeccola in a statement announcing the new venture. "Our audiences had expressed that there was a real market gap in cinemas delivering a premium experience and offering quality film in that area, so when the opportunity arose to be part of a stylish new development in Puckle Street, it was perfect."

The Moonee Ponds site is one of two new Melbourne locations currently in the works for Palace, with the company also set to open a 15-screen complex inside Coburg's former Pentridge Prison, also in 2019. Footscray, meanwhile, is getting an eight-screen cinema courtesy of the team behind Yarraville's iconic Sun Theatre.