New Zealand-owned Silky Otter Cinemas will open at The Landing in Wigram this July and will have eight big screens, with enough room to each seat 48 people.
Silky Otter chief executive and Cantabrian Neil Lambert said the new cinema will offer a "modernised, immersive viewing experience".
And with few big budget movies released over the past year due to the impact of Covid-19, the Wigram complex may be opening at just the right time with long-awaited Hollywood films - such as Black Widow, Space Jam: A New Legacy, Jungle Cruise and The Suicide Squad - due out soon.
"Silky Otter brings together the best of the mainstream multiplexes and the best of the boutique arthouses, delivering the optimal moviegoing experience," Lambert said.
"Created by a team with more than 30 years’ experience in the entertainment industry, Silky Otter was born out of their shared love of movies and their desire to preserve the magic of the big screen.
“We really wanted to give people a reason to get out of the house, come to the movies and enjoy them the way they are meant to be seen, and we really believe we’ve done that with Silky Otter.”
Lambert is excited to return to his home town with a project that has been in the making for 15 years.
"We’ve created something really special, and I can’t wait to share it with the people of Christchurch."
There are plans to open another cinema in Richmond, Nelson, later this year and a third in Queenstown next year.
