Although culture is certainly not what Queenstown is famous for, there is always something in the way of music or theatre on offer and the situation improves greatly during the Winter Festival (see Special Events). Just outside the town centre in Frankton, and easily accessible by car or bus, the Queenstown Events Centre, Joe O'Connell Drive (tel: (03) 442 3664; website: www.qtevents.co.nz) holds concerts and sporting events. Queenstown Events also run the other major venue in town, the Queenstown Memorial Hall, on Memorial Street, which stages frequent musical and theatrical performances in its large auditorium.

Reading Cinemas, 11-14 The Mall (tel: (03) 442 9990; website: www.readingcinemas.co.nz) is a small theatre in the town centre which shows all the latest blockbusters. Alternatively, Dorothy Browns, on Buckingham Street in Arrowtown (tel: (03) 442 1968; website: www.dorothybrowns.com) is a classy boutique cinema showing quality mainstream and art house films, where moviegoers leave their spacious seats in the old-fashioned intermission for a glass of excellent local wine at the bar.

Queenstown and the surrounding areas are popular with filmmakers and have featured in several movies of late, including Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia. To find out more about filmmaking in this part of New Zealand, visit www.filmqueenstown.com