Footrot Flats: The Dog’s Tale is coming to Light House Pāuatahanui from 28 January 2027, bringing the restored 4K edition to Porirua.
The cinema at 3 Paekākāriki Hill Road is part of Light House’s announced release across all its sites. Session times have not yet been listed.
Distributor Madman Entertainment has set the nationwide release after the restored film screened at the 2026 New Zealand International Film Festival. The re-release marks the film’s 40th anniversary.
More than 700,000 New Zealanders saw the film during its original cinema run in 1986. It grossed more than $2.5 million in New Zealand at the time, equivalent to around $7.24 million in 2026 dollars, and remains among the 10 highest-grossing New Zealand films.
New Zealand’s first animated feature follows farmer Wal Footrot and his border collie, Dog, through life on the farm. The cast includes John Clarke as Wal, Peter Rowley as Dog, Rawiri Paratene as Rangi, Fiona Samuel as Cheeky Hobson and Billy T. James as Pawai.
Murray Ball directed the film and wrote it with Tom Scott. John Barnett and Pat Cox produced it.
The return also renews the film’s connection with Slice of Heaven, written by Dave Dobbyn and performed with Herbs. The song spent eight weeks at number one on the New Zealand charts in 1986.
Madman lists the restored film as PG for coarse language and gives it a running time of 71 minutes. Its official page includes the new trailer.