The Empire Theatre will re-open its doors on Saturday with the completion of a new lobby.

The cinema has been temporarily closed since Sunday, October 31 and was scheduled to re-open its doors on November 14.

Napa Napa, the son of owner Pa Napa said the reason for further delays was that the cinema was waiting on one more part for the projector.

The projector issue was the main reason for the cinema temporarily closing its doors back in October.

“We received some parts last week, and we’re just waiting on one more.

“We already received the ICP (Integrated Cinema Processor) board and the battery, the last one coming is the integrated media block-board,” he said.

Napa said the technician who was scheduled to do repair work on the projector earlier this year had been stuck in New Zealand due to border closures.

“He (the technician) had a few issues finding and sending the parts over to Rarotonga.”

Napa said it was difficult because there were a number of cinemas in New Zealand experiencing similar problems.  

He is confident the cinema on Rarotonga will re-open this weekend.

“We have confirmed this morning that it (the part) should be on the flight this coming Thursday.

“So hopefully we should be open this Saturday,” he said. 

During its closure, Napa confirmed the cinema had also undergone renovations and improvements.

Renovations included a new hallway been built into the lobby, making it easier for people to access the historic complex from the main road and the car park located on the eastern side of the building.

Other improvements include work to the cinema located on the lower level, which Napa said is undergoing a major renovation, and won’t be ready by the weekend.

“We’re just getting the final touch-ups on the lobby ready.

“If all goes well, everything should be ready by this weekend.”

The Empire Theatre will re-open its doors on November 27.

It will showcase Disney’s family-animation film Ron’s Gone Wrong.