The Civic Theatre will convert into a cinema this week before increasing its capacity to 500 for the return of live shows next month.
City of Newcastle will install a 7.5-metre-wide movie screen in its main auditorium to show eight recent-release films from Thursday to September 30.
The theatre will be allowed to increase its capacity from 300 to 500 from October and is working on securing live shows on the main stage.
The capacity of the smaller Civic Playhouse will rise from 50 to 80.
The theatre was designed for live performances when it opened in 1929 but operated as a cinema for its first 45 years.
Its resurrection as a movie palace comes two years after the closure of the nearby Tower Cinemas.
The Civic screened a series of live productions by London's National Theatre in January as a trial of its viability as a cinema.
"It was so popular that film screenings in the Civic Theatre was the next obvious step," theatre manager Leonie Wallace said in a council statement.
"Our new program features a variety of films that appeal to people of all ages and tastes, such as recent-release features, documentaries, theatre productions and children's films during the school holidays."
The program kicks off on Thursday night with a screening of the biographical film Capone, released this year starring Tom Hardy.
The series includes four matinees and four 7pm shows. Other movies on the schedule include The Personal History of David Copperfield, Bruce Springsteen: Western Stars, The Lion King, Frozen 2 and Ride Like A Girl.
The Civic reopened after the COVID-19 lockdown in late July with a permitted capacity of 150.
"We have made changes to how the Civic Theatre operates to enable people to experience cinema and live performance safely with physical distancing requirements and hygiene measures met under our COVID Safe plan," Ms Wallace said.
Lord mayor Nuatali Nelmes said the council was pleased to offer live performance and cinema in the Civic to "provide a boost to surrounding local businesses by attracting more people into the Civic precinct".
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