Cinema Paradiso's bid to relocate to the former church, owned by developer Duffy Crook, of Varina Property Ltd, was approved by independent commissioners following a hearing in November.
Cinema operator Calum McLeod said building work to transform the church into a cinema began last week and the goal was to have movies running at the site "in some shape or form" from Easter.
During May and June, Wanaka's quieter months, it was possible the church would be closed again for the bulk of the building and site alterations to be carried out. However, between July and September - when the cinema's lease on its existing building on the corner of Ardmore St, Ballantyne Rd and Stratford Tce expires, the business would run from both sites, Mr McLeod said.
The logistics of the shift and operating two separate cinemas were still being worked through, but one certainty was there would be "about a dozen parties" along the way to mark each phase of the move.
The final celebration would be in December when Cinema Paradiso began screening Peter Jackson's The Hobbit in 3D on a new silver screen at the church site.
Mr McLeod also hoped to run screenings of Oscar-winning Italian film Cinema Paradiso, "towards the last few months of the [existing] Paradiso so we've got a last chance to have a look at the place before it morphs".
"[The film is] based around a cinema which is the heart of a little Italian village. It gets knocked down and then rises again."
Mr McLeod said two small-scale movie screenings had already been held recently at the church, which gave a good indication of how the building would function as a cinema.
He assured local movie-goers the cinema's unique character, which had gained international acclaim, would be retained at the new venue, including couches and old cars for seating and home-made cookies at half-time.
"You don't want to kill the goose that's laying the golden egg . . . we'll make it as quirky and as good, but hopefully upgrade the service."
Mr McLeod again expressed his sincere thanks to the more than 1000 people who made submissions supporting Cinema Paradiso's application to relocate to the church building.
"Using the analogy of the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, in a really dark time it was such a beautiful light."
