Movie Cinemas in Melbourne
We’re fortunate to have an amazing range of movie cinemas in Melbourne. From the large groups such as Hoyts and Village to the independents such as the Cinema Nova in Carlton or the venerable Astor Theatre in St Kilda (now part of the Palace Group). Some old classics have closed over time (e.g. the Carlton Movie House) and some have rebranded (e.g. the Valhalla, now called the Westgarth Cinema).
The screen and sound quality are not the be all and end all of cinemas. The range of movies shown, ambience, history, etc all contribute to the non-tangible elements of a “night at the movies”. And of course, the range of snacks including the choc-tops are critical! And for some, the luxury of reclining seats and food service make gold-class type cinemas the way to go. There’s a bunch of reasons to get out of the house to see a movie at the cinemas, not the least being seeing movies soon after they are released!
IMAX Cinema at Melbourne Museum
But what if you want to see the latest movie such as Oppenheimer, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (I enjoyed it) or Mission Impossible at the highest quality cinema? Read on, my friend. 4K is well known to aficionados of home cinema, though some would argue that at the cinema it doesn’t make as big a difference unless it’s a very large screen. To be honest, can anyone truly tell the difference between Blu-Ray quality and 4K (unless you are an “audiophile” type…).The IMAX cinema at the Melbourne Museum in Carlton takes this up a notch. With a 32 by 24 metre screen, along with either dual-4K laser projectors (read here for more information) or for selected movies, a 1570 film projector which utilises the entire IMAX screen to maximum effect. Only a few movies are shot with IMAX, and Christopher Nolan seems to have shot a few. The Melbourne IMAX seems to have a 15,000 watt sound system with 12 speakers, however I’m uncertain if this is officially Dolby Atmos or not.
Hoyts Onyx and Xtremescreen
Hoyts have recently opened two cinemas in Australia with the cutting edge Samsung Onyx cinema experience, the first in Sydney and the second in Melbourne at Highpoint in Maribyrnong. This, astonishingly features a 10 metre digital screen. Yep, not a projector screen but an actual massive LED screen, able to deliver 4K resolution and HDR (high dynamic range) supported content. Sound is provided by Samsung’s Harman JBL. Note that this seems to be relatively medium-sized. Hoyts also offer Xtremescreen with 314 seats and full Dolby Atmos. They seem to have rolled this out fairly widely and make it clear when you’re browsing session times so kudos to Hoyts for this.
Village Cinemas V-Max
Like Hoyts’ Xtremescreen, Village Cinemas seems to have rolled out one of their “Vmax” large screens to all of their cinemas. According to this PR piece the screen is 28 metres wide which is seriously impressive. Kudos to Village for making it clear – Dolby Atmos is available at Vmax Crown, Jam Factory and Plenty Valley. They also seem to have something called 4DX at Century City (Glen Waverley) with motion, lightning, moving seats and even water mist (!) however which movies if any support this is not entirely clear. Still, sounds like fun. The Rivoli cinema in Camberwell, owned by Village deserves particular mention (though a bit neglected on their website). Their wikipaedia page is a bit more interesting.
Palace Group
Group of high-quality cinemas including the Westgarth Cinema, The Kino, The Astor Theatre as well as several other cinemas, mainly south of the Yarra. “The architecturally striking Palace Westgarth, combines 1920’s classical features with art-deco and modernistic decorative styling, making for an unforgettable cinema trip. Palace Westgarth features five gorgeous auditoria and two stylish bars, including the newly installed courtyard bar.” History of the Classic Cinemas.
The Astor Cinema (Palace Group)
“The last single screen cinema of its kind in continuous operation in Melbourne, still standing since its grand opening in 1936, and one of only a few single screen movie theatres from the 1930s in the world screening repertory movie programming. The Astor Theatre is a classic, single-screen cinema with stalls and a dress circle with the magnificent auditorium having the same, soft ambience that you will have enjoyed in the foyers. Beautiful golden curtains cover the screen, which part majestically to begin the evening’s (or matinee’s) entertainment.” The Astor is an absolutely unique part of Melbourne cinema history with the art-deco lobby strangely reminiscent of the red room in Twin Peaks. The cinema seats are old but going to the Astor is an event. The screen and projector support 35mm or 70mm films and “the Astor is also home to the Barco 4K Digital Projector, the highest quality projector of its kind in Australia”. It has a great sound system, though unlikely to be Dolby Atmos. Take in a drink beforehand at the Overlook cafe and bar, reminiscent of The Shining. Please see a movie at The Astor and tell your friends about it, or one day it will probably sadly shut.
Moving Story Entertainment
An group of four independent cinemas, the Classic Cinemas in Elsternwick, Lido Cinemas in Hawthorn, Cameo Cinemas in Belgrave and Ritz Cinema in Randwick (NSW). The Lido was built in 1912 however has a cinema with 4K projection and Dolby Atmos. The Classic Cinemas are a great complex in Elsternwick with a good combination of mainstream, arthouse and cult movies. The Classic and Lido Cinemas also host the Jewish International Film Festival.
Cinema Nova (Carlton)
This one is close to my heart as my local during uni days and also when working at the Royal Melbourne. Post exam drinks at Jimmy Watson’s across the road were an institution. Picking up a bottle of wine from King and Godfree and $8 lasagne at Tiamo’s (not current pricing). The Nova really is the home of arthouse film with an amazing roster that is second to none (in my humble opinion). Where else could you see a double feature of A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket?
Readings Cinemas
This is an interesting group. I watched a few movies at the Readings in Devonport when working as a locum at the Mersey Hospital. In Melbourne, this group has cinemas in Burwood*, Chirnside Park, Dandenong, Epping, Melton, Millers Junction* (Altona North), Sunbury, Traralgon and Waurn Ponds* (Geelong). They seem to have a cinema called Titan Luxe which seems to offer the large screen experience, coupled with Dolby Atmos in selected areas (marked with an asterix *).