HOYTS Cinemas Website – Australia & New Zealand

The two key challenges for this project were stability and usability. The previous website would go offline during major blockbuster releases, preventing customers from even browsing session times. When it came to usability, the old website required customers to select tickets before choosing seats. This meant high cart abandonment when seeing that the session was too full or that their favourite seats weren't available. With the website accounting for 65% of total ticket sales, the majority of customers' first and last interactions with HOYTS are digital, so anything less than "best in class" was a commercial liability.

Taking inspiration from streaming services, the redesigned HOYTS website brought a familiar content-browsing experience to a cinema context. Simplifying the ticket purchase flow was critical, and moving to seat-first selection allowed customers to quickly check session availability before committing, directly reducing cart abandonment. All the heavy lifting was done by a backend built on Microsoft .NET 10 in conjunction with Cloudflare, providing the stability needed to handle traffic surges during major blockbuster releases. The result was a three-year journey from concept to launch — a ground-up rebuild that addressed both of the core design challenges.

The redesigned HOYTS website delivers impact across two key areas. Commercially, with the site accounting for 65% of total ticket sales across Australia and New Zealand, solving stability and usability issues directly protects and drives revenue at scale. For customers, the shift to seat-first selection reduced cart abandonment, making the ticket purchase experience faster and more intuitive for millions of moviegoers. As the primary touchpoint for the HOYTS brand, a best-in-class digital experience raises the standard for what Australians expect from cinema ticketing online.