[2] The New Oxford Theatre was opened in March 1927 by the Minister for Works, Alex C. McCallum,[3] before a capacity audience of 1,286.

[1] The opening programme included vaudeville, music by the New Oxford Orchestra, a short play, some comedy, and a special appearance by Beryl Mills, the first Miss Australia.

A 3,000-seat picture garden was opened on the southern corner of the same intersection in 1935, the largest of its kind at the time, and was named New Oxford Beautiful.

[5] Then in 1972 it was renamed the Olympia and for the next seven years showed mainly Greek and Italian films, reflecting the changing local community.

[1] The coffee bar and upstairs lounge were turned into a small cinema, which seated around 150 people and it was named Star Theatre.

Watson began providing live music on Sunday afternoons and it was around that time that he was offered The Gods Must Be Crazy which was not doing well in the eastern states but proved to be so successful, becoming the cinema's longest running film, showing at the theatre for three years.

[5] In 1995 the theatre was converted into twin cinemas, and in 1996 a new picture garden opened at the rear of the adjoining shops at 163–167 Oxford Street, which seated 200.

Its façade is styled in Art Deco rather than the moderne used in theatres of a similar period such as the Astor, Cygnet and Regal.