Hastings Focal Point cinema closes, set to reopen as Cineverse with young new owner next month

Focal Point Cinema in Hastings closed its doors over the weekend, but a new cinema business Cineverse Hastings, owned by Prabhi Dugh (inset), opens next month. Composite image / NZME

As one curtain closes, another opens.

When it comes to running Hawke’s Bay cinemas, a tweak of some old adages rings true.

On Sunday, Focal Point Cinema and Cafe in Hastings closed its doors for the last time after a 13-year run on Heretaunga St East in the city centre.

Focal Point Cinemas will continue to operate out of its Havelock North location on Joll Rd and all its vouchers and gift cards will still be accepted there.

But Hastings movie-lovers won’t go without a cinema in their town for too long, as a new cinema business, owned and operated by locals, has stepped into focus to save the day.

Cineverse will open at the site on August 1.

Owner Prabhi Dugh said he had been in talks with Focal Point Cinema owners Matt and Julie Bell, has purchased their equipment from the location and he is currently taking the theatre through a rebrand.

“They’ll start taking the Focal Point signage next week and then the whole rebrand is kind of done,” said Dugh.

“The majority of the inside is going to stay the same.

“But the prices, they’ll definitely be a lot cheaper.”

For the opening week, starting on Friday, August 1, all tickets to movies at Cineverse Hastings will be $15, and there will be cheap Tuesday tickets and loyalty card offers as well.

“I believe if there’s fair prices, people would love to come back to the movies,” Dugh said.

“It’s just they don’t have that chance at the moment, especially in this economy. But I’m here for bringing the community together.”

Ticket prices at Focal Point Cinema in Havelock are $20 for an adult on or after 5pm and $17 before 5pm, $14.50 for children under 15 and entry is free for children aged 3 and under.

Dugh remembers growing up in Hastings and going to the Reading Cinema on Heretaunga St, a place he recalls as a community hub where people from all over the district would gather to enjoy the latest blockbusters.

“That’s my aim with this business, just to have it as a community hub and host special events for the community,” he said.

“Just anything really, schools, clubs, community housing, the elderly – if they want to come have a special event they’re more than welcome."

Dugh went to Parkvale School, Hastings Intermediate and Hastings Boys’ High School, where he was the school’s dux in 2017.

He then moved to Auckland to complete an engineering degree, with honours, and went on to a fulltime career in Auckland, before finding a job back in Hawke’s Bay.

“And now I’m looking to get the cinema side of things going as well and bring the Hawke’s Bay community together in the heart of Hastings,” he said.

Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in Auckland, London, Berlin, and Napier.