Popcorn and property: Australia's top 20 home cinemas worthy of Academy recognition – 20 through 11

It’s like going to a Gold Class cinema and having it all to yourself – plus you can pause the movie while you get another Coke and popcorn top-up. A simple TV just doesn’t suffice for a lot of home owners these days. Many enthusiasts will buy a large LED TV and an expensive sound system, which is great, but even that isn’t enough for some cinephiles. Many house now come with home theatre rooms – rooms dedicated to the ultimate audio-visual experience. 

The most opulent of offerings include banks of tiered oversized reclining chairs, giant projector screens, overhead lighting like a night sky and cinema-style furnishings. Watching a movie in a room like these really is an immersive experience, in every sense of the word.

Queensland and Perth consistently delivered the homes with the most luxurious home theatre rooms, but New South Wales and Victoria had their fair share.

Property Observer found these homes on the market in the last year or so with the grandest home theatre systems available. Here's 20 to 11, then next week we countdown the best 10 home cinemas.

20

This elegant 10-seater arrangement comes from a home in Hope Island. The tiered seating matches the pastel colour scheme of the rest of the room. The hidden projector is a nice touch that keeps the room looking polished. The rest of the home is as you’d expect for its initial $19 million asking price. The mega-mansion sits on a 5,400-square-metre block and has a 176-metre water frontage. The seven bedroom, 10-bathroom house is being marketed with an eye to the foreign market. It now's been listed through Ray White Surfers Paradise with $16.5 million hopes.

19

It’s just you and the movie in this theatre. The stark austerity of the room caught Property Observer’s eye. It almost matches the aesthetic of The Matrix playing on the screen. There’s little else in the room except for the cinema seating and a 120-inch screen. It’s part of an 893-square-metre home in Ascot with extensive gardens and a waterfall. It was recently on the market through Anjanette Parker of Anjanette Parker Property Clayfield.

18

This home theatre in Paradise Point is an understated theatre room. It’s from a three-level, five-bedroom home that sits on a 30-metre waterfront with mooring facilities for a 30-metre yacht. It also has a 10-car garage in the basement and a commercial-grade elevator. It was recently available through Sarah Filippini from Island Realty.

17

These look like the sort of sofas that have been in the family for years and get comfier with each passing day, but apparently they’re made to order. A very friendly way to provide seating in a home theatre. The roof looks suspiciously like audio panels as well. It’s part of a five-bedroom megahome in Whitfield with two swimming pools, spa, several lounges, a private library, a music podium and a tropical fruit tree orchard. It is listed through Sue Clyde-Smith of Elite Cairns and Beaches with $2,495,000 hopes.

16

This dark room lets nothing distract from the experience of watching a movie. It’s just you and the screen in a pitch-black room. The room is in a three-level, four bedroom Scarborough, Queensland, home on the waterfront. It comes with an elevator, jet-ski storage, suspended lap-pool and a private beach. It is listed through Maddies Hermans of Century 21 Scarborough.

15

The owners of this place have gone for a different atmosphere. Rather than emulate the feel of a cinema as close as possible they’ve got for a more comfortable and homely approach. The bank of sofas and the striped wallpaper gives it a more social atmosphere than other home theatres. The rest of the four-bedroom property overlooks Bronte Beach and features a spa, a heated swimming pool, a sauna and a wine cellar.

14

Carpet like this doesn’t exist outside of cinemas. The tiered seating gives an easy view of the screen. It lacks any extraneous clutter to create a comfortable viewing atmosphere. The Belmont, Queensland, house also comes with a tennis court, an outdoor granite kitchen, a self-contained pool house and gym and a horse paddock. It is available through Brenton Faehrmann Ray White Bulimba.

13

This is a big screen. It’s like being seated in the front row of a cinema without having to look up. This three-bedroom house in North Adelaide also comes with a waterfall that cascades into a solar-heated swimming pool while rainforest noises are piped through hidden speakers.

12

Oddly shaped rooms are apparently perfect for home theatres as they’re good at preventing standing waves. This smaller offering has all of the cinema magic one could hope for, especially with those red velvet curtains. It’s part of a four-bedroom Buddina property. It was recently sold by Mark Unkel of Elite Lifestyle Properties Minyama.

11

You’d be the envy of independent movie makers with a theatre like this. The staggered seating gives uninterrupted views of the massive screen at the front, and the wall-mounted speakers complete the experience. It’s built into a 1,115-square-metre Manly West mansion, which has an eight-person spa, a sauna, a 10-car garage and seven bedrooms. It’s listed through Margaret Vote of Raine & Horne Wynnum / Manly with $2.5 million-plus hopes.

Next week the countdown from 10 gets underway.