Avoca Beach Theatre

The Avoca Beach Theatre is a historic movie theater located in Avoca Beach, New South Wales. First established as an outdoor cinema in the late 1940s, it was formally opened in late 1951. The theatre offers a range of events from film screenings to live music and comedy performances.

The BBC listed it as one of the 10 most beautiful cinemas in the world.

Growing up, Norman Hunter (Snr) and his family would travel from their home in Emu Plains to Avoca Beach for the holidays.

In 1948, Hunter permanently relocated to Avoca in the hopes the warmer weather would improve his wife Dulcie's health. The Hunters began weekly outdoor screenings of films produced by Shell Australia. The money they initially raised from the screenings was put towards building a rockpool at Avoca Beach. Shortly after, Norman and his brother Mervyn applied to develop a 500-seat cinema.

Construction finally began on the theatre in the autumn of 1951 and it formally opened in December. The building was designed by local architect T.A. Mayo and due to shortages after World War II, most of the construction materials were recycled. The site's projectors and seats were repurposed from an MGM theatre in Manly, concrete blocks were made by a local farmer and steel support beams came from the Hunter's property in Emu Plains. Alongside the cinema, the building featured retail space for two additional shops. Norman attributed the idea for the cinema to Dulcie, who had recently passed away.

The first films screened at the cinema were the comedies Two Weeks with Love and The Big Hangover.

The theatre originally operated on Saturdays and during the school holidays, while on Sundays it held church services.

In 1974, 24-year-old Paul Brennan bought the business after the theatre suffered storm damage. Brennan undertook renovations of the site and installed a café. Under Brennan's custodianship, the cinema operated seven days a week and screened both first-release and classic films, while also holding events like live performances and annual dress-up parties. Brennan operated the theatre until 1992.