The Empire Theatre is temporarily closed but is hoping to reopen its doors this Sunday as movie lovers eagerly await its return.

The Rarotonga cinema located downtown has been closed since Sunday, 31 October.

Napa Napa, who is the son of Pa Napa whose family owns the Empire Theatre, said a projector was the main reason for the cinema temporarily closing its doors.

“We are awaiting parts for the projector, which at the moment there is none in New Zealand,” he said.

“The projector which is now all-digital operates like a computer and PC, so once one thing plays up the whole thing does.

“The technician is trying to get hold of parts in Australia, but it’s hard,” he said.  

The technician, who was scheduled to do repair work on the projector earlier this year has been stuck in New Zealand due to border closures.

According to Napa, the technician travels twice a year to service the equipment but hasn’t been able to travel to Rarotonga for almost two years.

Napa added that there were also logistical issues such as waiting on the flights to send items overseas to be repaired, which have affected the time it can take for parts to arrive here.

“There’s no timeline as to how long it will take, but I managed to take the part which was broken out of the projector and send it to New Zealand (Thursday last week),” he said

“So I’m hoping it will get to him (the technician) by Monday (today), so he can repair it and send it back by Thursday’s flight.”

The Empire Theatre hopes to re-open its doors on November 14.

It will be showcasing Marvel Studio’s latest movie Eternals starring Angelina Jolie, Harry Styles, and Kit Harrington.