New Frontier Theater

The theater first opened on May 27, 1967[2] as the New Frontier Cinema-Theater and was considered to be the biggest theater in the Philippines,[3] having a 3,500 seating capacity.[4] The theater was influenced by the Radio City Music Hall,[5] and also had an ice skating rink and a roller skating rink, which opened in 1968 and had a capacity of 900 skaters.[6] The skating rink catered to numerous customers, ranging from the masses to elite members of influential families.[7] It was used until the mid-1990s,[1][8] after which the theater fell into disuse due to the emergence of home video, as well as competition from new malls with cinemas, causing standalone theaters to deteriorate and close operations.[8]

Plans for the renovation of the theater were laid out as early as 2003,[3] however, further redevelopment plans were opened, which included demolishing the theater to utilize the space and to rebuild it alongside a proposed 30+ story mixed-use tower. The plans for the mixed-use tower development were unveiled in 2005, as part of the later stages of the Araneta City master plan, in the aftermath of the early plans for the development of Manhattan Garden City. 11 years later after the announcement of the planned renovation of the theater, the plans were finalized for the gentrification of the theater and the renovation works would have been completed in an earlier date. The renovation project began in 2014 and was reopened on August 15, 2015, assigning Megawide Construction Corporation as the general contractor of the project. The renovation project costed ₱500 million,[8] and included the preservation of the original façade of the building, and the installation of new modern seats. The theater currently has a 2,385 seating capacity.[8][9]

The theater was renamed "Kia Theatre" after the Araneta Group signed a five-year licensing deal with Columbian Autocar Corporation, the Philippine distributor for Kia Motors until 2018, on July 15, 2015.[8] The theater façade would feature a 305.96 m² (3,293.3 sq ft) Kia showroom as part of the agreement.[10]

The theater began accommodating performances and guests with the staging of the musical, MLQ: Ang Buhay ni Manuel Luis Quezon.[11] The first commercial show of the theater upon its reopening was The Disney Live! Mickey's Music Festival which ran from September 1 to 6, 2015.[8]

The theater reverted to its original name, the "New Frontier Theater" on October 1, 2018,[12][13] and was temporarily closed for more than a year due to COVID-19 pandemic.

On June 21, 2021, the theater began serving as a secondary vaccination center, sharing its purpose with the Smart Araneta Coliseum for the rollout of the Quezon City vaccination drive against the COVID-19 pandemic, capable of vaccinating 1,000 to 1,500 people daily.[14] On February 21, 2022, the theater now serves as a vaccination center for children aged 5–11 years, in partnership with the Quezon City Local Government.[15]