A council spokesman said yesterday that councillors would consider options on the future of the James Theatre cinema at tonight’s meeting.

The Newcastle Herald yesterday reported film fans are fighting to revive the historic James Theatre as a cinema after it closed.

Dungog Film Festival chief executive Stavros Kazantzidis said he understood there had been several expressions of interest in taking over the cinema.

‘‘I think there’s probably exciting times ahead for Dungog cinema,’’ Mr Kazantzidis said.

‘‘It’s a unique cinema in a changing environment.’’

The cinema was Australia’s oldest operating purpose-built cinema before its closure.

Former operator Brett Hopson said it had struggled in a system aimed at multiplexes.

Film distributor policy that movies be shown a certain number of times meant regional single-screens such as Dungog often missed out for weeks after release, Mr Hopson said.

‘‘By the time we get them they’ve already been downloaded or they’re not far off DVD,’’ Mr Hopson said.

Despite hopes digital formats could lead to a revival by making the films more available, Mr Hopson said the policy was expected to stay despite the new format.