Brandwave

St James Theatre vs The Civic:Which is more popular in New Zealand?

In October 2026, The Civic had more branded searches than St James Theatre among theatres and performing arts venues in New Zealand. The Civic had about 18,100 branded searches, while St James Theatre had 8,100. The Civic made up 22.7% of all theatres and performing arts venue searches we track, and St James Theatre accounted for 10.2%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about theatres and performing arts venues, both St James Theatre and The Civic appeared in all four answers. The Civic was mentioned before St James Theatre in two out of three answers.

Among theatres and performing arts venues in New Zealand in October 2026

Who do people search for more?

The Civic, about 2 searches for every 1 for St James Theatre

The Civic 18.1K searchesSt James Theatre 8.1K searches

Who does AI mention more?

Both are mentioned in every answer we collected.

St James Theatre in 4 of 4The Civic in 4 of 4

Who does AI recommend more?

The Civic, named ahead of St James Theatre in 2 of 3 answers

The Civic first in 2St James Theatre first in 1

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Top theatres and performing arts venues in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and one Google AI Overview, both St James Theatre and The Civic showed up in all four answers. The Civic was listed before St James Theatre in two of them.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. The Civic1st
  2. St James Theatre2nd
  3. ASB Waterfront Theatre3rd
  4. Isaac Theatre Royal4th
  5. Circa Theatre5th
  6. Q Theatre6th
  7. Auckland Live7th
  8. Auckland Theatre Company8th
  9. Court Theatre–
  10. BATS Theatre–

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • The Civic4 of 4Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers
  • Isaac Theatre Royal4 of 4Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers
  • St James Theatre4 of 4Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers
  • ASB Waterfront Theatre3 of 4Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers
  • Q Theatre2 of 4Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers
  • Circa Theatre2 of 4Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Auckland Theatre Company2 of 4Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • Court Theatre1 of 4Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers
  • Auckland Live1 of 4Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 1 Google answers
  • BATS Theatre1 of 4Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 1 Google answers

See every answer about theatres and performing arts venues

4 answers

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in New Zealand on October 21, 2026.

Is St James Theatre or The Civic more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for St James Theatre and The Civic by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all ten theatres and performing arts venues we track, month by month, from searches in New Zealand.

St James Theatre and The Civic among theatres and performing arts venues in New Zealand, by month

Share of searches by month for The Civic, St James Theatre. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthThe CivicASB Waterfront TheatreQ TheatreIsaac Theatre RoyalCourt TheatreSt James TheatreAuckland LiveCirca TheatreAuckland Theatre CompanyBATS Theatre
Nov 202519.3%10.6%8.9%16.4%13.1%8.6%9%7.3%3.8%3.2%
Dec 202522.5%8.2%8.4%12.7%18.6%5.4%10.3%8.5%3%2.5%
Jan 202615.7%7%5.9%13.4%29%7%7.5%8.8%3.8%2%
Feb 202616.8%13.8%7.8%17.4%11.3%7.5%8.4%7.8%4.1%5.1%
Mar 202616.7%7.5%9.6%21.3%13.7%11.2%6.9%7.7%3.3%2.2%
Apr 202619.2%10.5%11.2%13.4%10.5%10.5%8.5%8.8%4.9%2.5%
May 202616%7.1%20.3%13.7%11.8%10.7%6.6%5.9%4.1%3.9%
Jun 202620.8%11.4%8%14.7%12.8%9.3%8.6%6.4%5.2%2.7%
Jul 202622.7%4.4%13%8.8%17.7%6.7%8.6%10.5%4.6%3%
Aug 202621.9%12%10.2%15.2%10.4%5.3%8.9%10.1%3.6%2.4%
Sep 202623.7%10.6%11%11.1%11%10.6%9%7.2%3.2%2.5%
Oct 202622.7%15.2%10.6%10.5%10.3%10.2%8%5.7%3.7%3.1%

How has branded search for St James Theatre and The Civic changed in New Zealand over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for New Zealand theatres and performing arts venues in October 2026?

2 changes

  1. In October 2026, The Civic lost share of searches among theatres and performing arts venues in New Zealand, from 23.7% to 22.7%.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for St James Theatre in New Zealand rose 22.7% over 12 measured months, from 6.6K to 8.1K in October 2026.

How are St James Theatre’s and The Civic’s branded searches counted?

2 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using St James Theatre’s and The Civic’s names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

St James Theatre

1 branded search term

  • st james theatre

The Civic

1 branded search term

  • the civic

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among theatres and performing arts venues

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