When Christchurch Owner Turns 90, New Zealand's Oldest Cinema On Sale

Lang Masters wants to roll the credits after six decades running one of New Zealand’s oldest cinemas.

Masters, 90, has been a familiar sight behind the counter seven days a week at the three-screen Hollywood Cinema in Sumner, Christchurch.

He has now put the complex up for sale and it will be auctioned on February 24.

The Hollywood cinema opened in 1938 and has screened movies ever since, including a 25-year period when it was known as The Stage Door. It is the oldest cinema in the city.

“I thought it would be a good time to sell because I can’t work here forever. I may as well have some spending money,” Masters said.

He said while he no longer wanted to work five hours every day of the week, he would miss the cinema if he gave it up entirely.

“If someone can come in and wants to keep it going, I could come in and help out, rather than give up completely,” he said. “You’ve got to know what films to book.”

The property is being marketed by real estate agents Harcourts to property developers as a potential redevelopment site, as well as to investors. The sale includes a Coffee Culture cafe, run by a tenant.

Masters said it would be a shame for the local community if the cinema had to close. He hoped any redevelopment could incorporate a new cinema.

“I suppose someone could put in a couple of new luxury cinemas, and the rest in flats.”

Masters said the business had survived the Covid-19 pandemic and the opening of new multiplexes because of its loyal local audience in the seaside suburb.

“They are still coming to the movies. The like it in Sumner, and people come here from out of town as well.”

In 2014, the cinema won the People’s Choice award for the best independent cinema at the New Zealand Motion Picture Awards.

Masters and his wife Maureen have run the cinema since 1962, adding a second screen in the 1970s and a third in the 1990s to make a total of 337 seats.

The couple built up their film empire and by the 1980s had seven cinemas around Christchurch under the name Masters Theatres. They later scaled right back and concentrated on the Hollywood.

In 2015, they bought the Sumner property from landlord Nigel Warnes for $929,000, and a year later bought in Steve Jukes as a co-owner.

Lang Masters continued to run the cinemas after Maureen died two years ago.

In July last year, a group headed by Jukes agreed to take over the business and lease the property from Masters.

But the deal was not completed and by the end of the year Masters had bought the group out and become sole owner again.

The property has a 2019 rating valuation of $1.1 million.