The Case for Yet Another Era's End

Without warning, I came to the startling realisation on Saturday morning that yet another Wellington filmatic institution has departed Wellington: Hoyts no longer has an inner city presence, as Regent on Manners has joined Hoyts MidCity cinemas in shutting up shop (click the link for the unrevealing story). No more Rialto, no more Hoyts Lower Hutt... (more links to my blogspots about them). They are dropping like flies...

There was little to no fanfare heralding this ending, perhaps not surprising considering that the Regent on Manners was the neglected, smelly cousin of Readings down the road. Myself, I had always seen Regent on Manners as a “back up” to Readings, even if the tickets were marginally less expensive, the only thing really luring me there being either more agreeable viewing times or the knowledge that it would not be sold out for popular movies that people would have already grabbed all the tickets at Readings.

I remember seeing a movie many means ago on the same site, pre-upgrade to Hoyts standard, when it used to be the old Regent, a dark, labyrinthine set of 3 cinemas. It then underwent a Hoyts transformation, from large lounge-like chairs to plastic padded seats; from 3 large rooms to 5 smaller, hall like cinemas that only the now also defunct Rialto could beat for lack of cinematic character; from a smaller, independent picture palace into a generic cinema chain – and ultimately, an unsuccessful one.

I do have some strong memories of the place: of almost freezing to death during a hyper-long session of Pirates of the Carribean 3; of attending a packed-out session of Galaxy Quest where one movie-goer got an Aliens-referencing joke from Sigourney Weaver thirty seconds before anyone else in the theatre did; of receiving a free DVD as a Borat movie tie in; and really enjoying Kung Fu Panda in one of the smaller cinemas.

The movies were all main stream (although the Regent did indulge in Bollywood movies, near the end) and the cinema itself was built in the model of the worst kind of Cineplex, but it is a shame that yet another picture palace in Wellington is gone. It definitely filled a niche in my cinematic environment, though perhaps Hoyts will be back stronger than ever in a wee while. Perhaps.

Verdict: A sad departure, further reducing cinematic choice, but perhaps worse in the impact this may have on Readings, especially in the price it charges movie worshippers, will be interesting to see – though hopefully, it won’t be seen at all. 0 Hoyts out of 3.