Lights, camera, rebuild: Work starts to bring Reading Cinemas back to life

Saturday, 8 November 2025

Primeproperty Group director Eyal Aharoni in the empty theatre at Reading Cinemas. The first phase of the on site work, seismic strengthening, is under way.

Get ready for reclining seats, new shops and a boost in the arm for Courtenay Place. Work has started on the first phase of reopening Reading Cinemas.

And in the businesses surrounding it, there is a sigh of relief.

On Friday The Post got to have a look inside the movie complex which was shut because of earthquake risk, ironically after a 4.9 magnitude earthquake gave the capital a shake and a rattle the night before.

There’s something eerie about empty movie theatres that were once filled with people carrying popcorn and the sound of laughter.

It’s been a while since anyone’s been in Reading Cinemas and it’s a strange time capsule of the day it closed. The movie posters are of Bumblebee, Mary Poppins and Spiderman: Into the Spider Verse.

Inside Wellington’s long shut Readings Cinema the movies from the day it closed are still on the wall, a tiny time capsule from 2019.

The complex’s car park was damaged during the 2016 Kaikōura earthquake, then closed in 2019 after an engineer’s report showed it was at high risk.

The big site - close to a city block in the middle of Courtenay Place - was the subject of much debate in the years after, about what should happen to it.

Wellington City Council’s then-mayor Tory Whanau and elected members voted to give staff the go-ahead to undertake due diligence and negotiate a $32 million arrangement that would have gone towards funding a comprehensive refurbishment of the building.

But the controversial deal with then-owners Reading International was cancelled and in January Primeproperty Group company director Eyal Aharoni stepped in to buy the large block of land where the cinema complex sits.

He said his company saw immense potential in the site, and had plans to transform it into a mixed-use cinema and retail destination.

The theatres need upgrading - there’s mould in them - and the mall area is to be expanded and updated with new hospitality options.

There will be 10 theatres, four with reclining chairs and a food service alongside six others. The numbers the theatres can hold in total is reducing but it’s to provide a better experience.

Aharoni said it would be the only one like it in Wellington.

He had previously revealed plans to position entrances on Courtenay Place, Tory St and Wakefield St. By doing this, he hoped the cinema would act as a thoroughfare from St James Theatre to Reading Cinemas to Tākina Convention Centre and then Te Papa.

Courtenay Place needs the shot in the arm. Aharoni knows even as he says it, it won’t be all the area needs, like a good tidy up.

Seismic strengthening is the first step which marks the start of a wider development project that will return it to a cinema complex with new entertainment, retail and hospitality options.

The odd look of a stripped back movie theatre at Reading Cinemas in Wellington where work has just begun to strengthen then redevelop the site.

Primeproperty Group is undertaking a full structural upgrade to 70% of the new building standard (NBS) for an importance level 3 (IL3) building - a level equivalent to 100% NBS for standard commercial structures.

The seismic strengthening work would enhance a number of elements of the structure improving the building’s performance in future seismic events.

“This includes the thickening of the existing slab-on-grade and tying it into the pile caps, the formation of new shear walls and enhancing the existing diaphragms using fibre-reinforced polymers (FRP),” Aharoni said.

“Additional bracing and movement joints are also being formed in the roof, allowing different parts of the structure to move independently in the event of an earthquake - a critical measure to improve performance during seismic activity.”

The strengthening work is expected to run through mid-2026 and is being carried out under the current building consent, which focused solely on the structural upgrade.

Resource consent and additional building consents will be lodged as part of the next phase of redevelopment.

Aharoni says the return of Reading Cinemas would mark a major milestone not just for development, but for Wellington.

“With over 4.6 million people visiting Courtenay Place annually before its closure, it’s clear this location has long played a vital role in the life of the city. Courtenay Place remains Wellington’s cultural epicentre. Reading will restore its role as a key connection between Wakefield Street and the waterfront, while also drawing people back into the heart of the city — both day and night.”

Construction on the full redevelopment is scheduled to begin in early 2026, with completion expected by the end of the year.

Aharoni said leasing was now being looked at and they were in discussions with potential tenants. He won’t name names but one will be a big arcade.

Epic Hospitality owner Greig Wilson said there was a sigh of relief that the Reading Cinema complex is being strengthened and reopened.

Reading International’s Ellen Marie Cotter said earlier in the week that the fit out would start once the building work had finished and the cinemas would be upgraded to recliner seating.

She said the target for opening was late 2026 or early 2027.

Local retailers and other hospo businesses were looking forward to it.

Grieg Wilson owns Epic Hospitality, which has three businesses located on Courtenay Place.

He said the news Reading Cinemas was being strengthened brought about a “sigh of relief”.

“I remember when they closed. There was an overnight reduction - immediate - in sales over the course of the week, Readings being a major anchor tenant.

“It really gives us some real hope - looking forward to a brighter 2026.”

Jeremy Smith is the director of Trinity Group, which includes Trinity Hotel, Lulu, and the Arborist Rooftop Bar. He is also the spokesperson for Eat Drink Play, the group dedicated to revitalising Wellington’s inner city’s retail and hospitality areas, particularly Courtenay Place.

Reading’s revitalisation was good news, he said. The area was prime property, and now that earthquake strengthening had been confirmed - plus the agreement to keep the cinema on site - there would be more people coming into the city.

His understanding was that there would be a mix of retail and hospitality on the ground floor.

“I think it's a great element to add to Courtenay Place.”

New Wellington mayor Andrew Little said it was welcome news,

“Reading Cinemas is such as important destination for Courtenay Place. It will be great to see more people coming into the CBD to catch a movie and support the capital’s hospitality and retail sectors.”

– Additional reporting by Frances Chin