Moviegoers were evacuated from Whanganui's Embassy 3 cinema when a fire alarm went off on Thursday morning.
Whanganui Fire and Emergency senior station officer Aaron Summerhays said there were about 20 people at the Victoria Ave complex when the alarm activated about 11.25am.
The cause of the false alarm had not yet been determined. It followed a similar false alarm at the theatre last week.
The cinema is currently undergoing refurbishment.
Firefighters also attended a false alarm at Affco's Whanganui site at 10.20am on Thursday.