The Capitol

The story of a local legend: whether through his influential bands, legendary act The Front Lawn, or compositions for film and television, the songs of Don McGlashan are well known to the Kiwi ear. Less familiar is the story of the man behind the music, but that’s about to change thanks to acclaimed cultural documentarian Shirley Horrocks (Peter Peryer: The Art of Seeing, Paul Callaghan: Dancing with Atoms). This captivating documentary celebrates the extraordinary journey of Don's career, packed with backstage stories, personal moments, and the magic behind chart-topping hits. With legendary colleagues like Neil Finn and Toa Fraser singing Don McGlashan’s praises, and touching interviews with family offering rare glimpses into his creative soul, it’s an uplifting tribute to a truly original talent.

Five Films For Freedom Join us for special screening of Five Films For Freedom, the world’s widest reaching LGBTQIA+ online celebration. This is a free screening. A partnership between the British Council and BFI Flare, London’s LGBTIQIA+ film festival, Five Films For Freedom makes five international LGBTQIA+ short films available to watch online for free anywhere in the world as well as free public screenings. Since its launch in 2015, the films featured in the programme have been watched online and in person by over 26 million people in more than 202 countries and principalities, celebrating global stories in support of LGBTQIA+ communities around the world. The Capitol Cinema is delighted to host this free public screening of the films in collaboration the British Council New Zealand and the Pacific. The films selected for this year’s programme will be announced in late February. https://film.britishcouncil.org/about/work/fivefilmsforfreedom

Elvis sings and tells his story like never before in a new cinematic experience from visionary filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. This is more than a concert film. It is EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert. A one-of-a-kind cinematic experience from Academy Award-nominated Baz Luhrmann. EPiC features long-lost footage from Presley’s legendary Vegas residency in the 1970s, woven together with rare 16mm footage from Elvis on Tour and treasured 8mm film from the Graceland archive, along with rediscovered recordings of Elvis telling 'his side of the story,.'

Becket Redfellow sets out to reclaim the $28B family fortune his mother was denied. To pull off his ambitious scheme, he must kill the seven relatives who stand in his way - while navigating love, deception, and wicked betrayals.

Live At The Void captures the DIY nature of the local music scene, with full sets filmed at a Mount Roskill flat during a 21st birthday bash. Featuring Neither Do I, Park Flyers, CCTV, and 花溪 Flowerstream, this concert film is a modern snapshot of the Tāmaki Makaurau/Auckland City indie scene. It blends performance with on-screen commentary from film-makers Corey Fuimaono and Liam Hansen.

Wallflower Colin (Harry Melling) leads a humdrum existence until he meets the impossibly handsome Ray (Alexander Skarsgård), a mysterious biker he is soon desperately devoted to. As Colin submits to Ray and enters an exciting new world of desire, he must decide the limits of his devotion. Hilarious, subversive and sexy, PILLION is the acclaimed and surprisingly tender love story from writer-director Harry Lighton, starring Melling and Skarsgård in fearless performances as a mild young man and his leather-clad lover.

Pitchblack Playback: Fugees 'The Score' (30th Anniversary) Please arrive by event start time as latecomers will not be admitted and refunds will not be offered Immerse yourself in one of the greatest albums of the '90s at Pitchblack Playback's listening session in the dark, celebrating 30 years since its release. Hear this immense record played loud in uncompressed audio on our powerful cinema sound system. No distractions; just you and the music. "This sounds great” — Rick Rubin "A fabulous idea" — Jay Kay, Jamiroquai "The optimal way to listen to an album" — Max Richter "This might just be my favourite new thing to do" — Nihal, BBC Radio 5 Live Ticket includes Pitchblack Playback eye mask for extra darkness. As recommended by The Guardian, GQ, Time Out and BBC 6 Music. Album duration: 60 minutes

DESIRE. LEATHER. LAUGHTER. PILLION RIDES INTO THE CAPITOL FOR A ONE-NIGHT-ONLY PREVIEW FUNDRAISER An evening of seduction, subversion, and cinema - all in support of Aotearoa’s Rainbow communities. The Capitol Cinema and the Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust invite audiences to surrender - joyfully - to the year’s most intoxicating cinematic surprise. PILLION, the acclaimed and unexpectedly tender love story from writer-director Harry Lighton, screens in an exclusive New Zealand Preview at The Capitol. Film begins at 8:00pm. Doors open at 7:00pm. Arrive early. Arrive curious. A LOVE STORY THAT MISBEHAVES Hilarious, provocative, and disarmingly romantic, PILLION pairs Melling and Skarsgård in fearless performances as a mild young man and his leather-clad lover. What begins in kink unfolds into something startlingly human - a film that is as funny as it is raw, and far more tender than it first appears. This isn’t shock for shock’s sake. It’s desire, examined. Devotion, negotiated. Identity, unbuttoned. CINEMA WITH PURPOSE This special screening supports the Rainbow New Zealand Charitable Trust, Aotearoa’s longstanding champion of LGBTTQIA+ communities. For over 25 years, the Trust has raised and distributed nearly $80,000 in grants to more than 130 organisations and awarded over 80 scholarships to emerging Rainbow leaders. This is glamour with generosity. Pleasure with purpose. CHOOSE YOUR DEVOTION Because every romance deserves options. THE REBEL PACKAGE - $50 Ticket + Soho Mara Méthode Rosé Bubbles + Duck Island Ice Cream + Popcorn Decadence with a wink. THE RIDE TOGETHER PACKAGE - $35 Ticket + Duck Island Ice Cream + Non-alcoholic drink Sweet, steady, irresistible. THE VELVET RIDE - $25 Ticket + Popcorn Just you, the dark, and the screen. TICKETS WON’T LINGER This is a one-night-only preview. Seats are limited. Devotion is not. Secure a ticket now. Claim a package. Take the ride. Book before someone else does.

A father, accompanied by his son, goes looking for his missing daughter in North Africa.

This music-packed documentary tells the story of Pene Pati and his brother Amitai Pati, and their against-the-odds journey from Samoa to platinum-selling success in the trio Sol3 Mio and on to the world’s greatest opera stages. Bursting with humour, heart and soaring performances, the film reveals the resilience born of adversity, the richness of family and culture, and the rewards that come from following an unlikely dream.

Be one of the first to see THE BRIDE! ...The stunning new take on Mary Shelley's classic Bride of Frankenstein tale. Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the film features a monster cast including Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Annette Bening, and Penelope Cruz. There’s only one place to enjoy this gothic horror, love story, and one of the biggest genre films of 2026 ...and that's with a crowd in a dark cinema! Come early to enjoy our themed cocktail and custom pre-show. A lonely Frankenstein (Bale) travels to 1930s Chicago to ask groundbreaking scientist Dr. Euphronious (five-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening) to create a companion for him. The two revive a murdered young woman, and The Bride (Buckley) is born. What ensues is beyond what either of them imagined: Murder! Possession! A wild and radical cultural movement! And outlaw lovers in a wild and combustible romance! Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, the film stars Jessie Buckley ('Hamnet', 'Men'), Christian Bale (‘The Dark Knight' trilogy), Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, 'Donnie Darko’), Annette Bening (‘American Beauty’), and Penelope Cruz ('Vicky Cristina Barcelona')

What happens when you cross 'Bonnie & Clyde', 'Frankenstein', & 'Rocky Horror' - and throw in some overt but heartfelt references to classic Warner's gangster flicks to boot? You end up with THE BRIDE: a truly original film that might just be this year's 'Sinners'. Killer cast (soon-to-be Oscar-Winner, Buckley; previous winner Bale); Killer monsters; Killer Soundtrack (what an end song!!!); Killer styling and period detail; scale, powerful feminist overtones, and a couple of Busby Berkeley numbers featuring deft dancing from the undead and reanimated. 2026's first 'can't -miss' movie. A genre monster-mashup with heart and soul to boot! (And like Sinners - something to say!) The film stars Buckley, Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, with Bening, Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, and Oscar winner Penélope Cruz. Maggie Gyllenhaal directs from her own screenplay and produces alongside Oscar nominee Emma Tillinger Koskoff, Talia Kleinhendler and Osnat Handelsman Keren. The executive producers are Carla Raij, David Webb and Courtney Kivowitz. Gyllenhaal is supported behind the camera by a team of award-winning film artisans, including director of photography Lawrence Sher, production designer Karen Murphy, editor Dylan Tichenor, music supervisor Randall Poster, composer Hildur Gudnadóttir and costume designer Sandy Powell.

The Capitol Cinema recommends Wuthering Heights. Not for the faint-hearted. Not for the romantics who prefer their love polite. Emily Brontë’s fever dream of obsession and class warfare crashes onto the moors with mud on its boots and fire in its lungs. Heathcliff - feral, humiliated, unyielding - loves Catherine with a devotion that curdles into vengeance. Catherine loves him back. And still chooses comfort, status, safety. It is the wrong decision. It always was. What follows is not a romance. It’s a haunting. A generational reckoning of pride, cruelty, longing, and the terrible cost of wanting what the world says you cannot have. Storms roll in. Doors slam. Hearts calcify. This is passion without restraint, desire without compromise, and revenge that seeps into the walls. Gothic before gothic had a name. See it on the big screen. Let the wind in.