Document And Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 14, 2012 Class A Non-Voting Common Stock [Member]	Mar. 14, 2012 Class B Voting Common Stock [Member]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2011
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2011
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Trading Symbol	rdi
Entity Registrant Name	READING INTERNATIONAL INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000716634
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			21,311,348	1,495,490
Entity Public Float		$ 81,885,359