Jane Crowther

There’s never been a better – or more important – time to celebrate cinemas. They’re the places we go to dream, focal points of our communities, and an all-round great escape. Yet movie theatres are faced with challenges that even lovelty popcorn holders can’t help with. But they’ve survived the advent of TV, Hollywood strikes, a couple of pandemics, and so far, they’re holding firm against streaming and surging costs – and there’s reasons for optimism, too: younger, Letterboxd-savvy audiences are embracing the big-screen experience like never before, and filmmakers like Ryan Coogler, Christopher Nolan and Chloé Zhao are championing it at every opportunity. Just try booking an IMAX ticket for The Odyssey. With that in mind, Time Out’s local experts have collaborated on a celebration of the best cinemas from across the globe. From cult Tokyo cinemas and grand Parisian film temples to beloved Sydney picturehouses and LA film dream palaces, from a Berlin kino with its own nuclear bunker to a Canadian cinema with only 12 seats, we’ve pointed the spotlight on a hundred magnificent movie palaces that all movie lovers should know about – and visit.  NB We’ve gone almost entirely with single-use cinemas rather than venues that double up as theatres or gig venues. 

In his Oscars battle cry Anora director Sean Baker called for cinemas to be saved as a ‘vital part of our culture’. Once on every high street, the local picture house/fleapit/movie theatre has buckled under pressure from VHS, malls, developers and streaming, their stories reflecting that of 20th and 21st century culture. But as physical media continues to be re-embraced and we return to that special communal theatrical experience post-Covid, the churches where we worship movies should have their moment in the spotlight. In my new book, Silver Screens, I chose a hundred picture palaces with tales as compelling as any of the blockbusters they screen; architecturally magnificent, historical footnotes, famous haunts, world firsts and, more often than not, kept running by the passion of movie fans (Quentin Tarantino among them). Here’s 10 that are worth the price of the movie ticket alone, regardless of how good the show is… Photograph: Sean Pavone / Shutterstock.com The one to visit... for the Hollywood lore The Chinese Theatre, LA Probably the most recognisable cinema in the world, this 1928-built ‘atmospheric’ has been in almost as many movies as it’s shown. Four million fans a year visit for the Hollywood location on the Walk of Fame, famous footprints in the cement outside, film ephemera indoors and the state-of-the-art sound and projection. Iconic. Photograph: Jane CrowtherThe Circuit Playhouse was a favourite of Elvis’s The one to visit... to feel like a king The Circ