Specific to North American term is the movies, while specific terms in the UK are the pictures, the flicks and for the facility itself the flea pit (or fleapit). In the countries where those terms are used, the word 'theatre' is usually reserved for live performance venues.Ĭolloquial expressions, mostly applied to motion pictures and motion picture theaters collectively, include the silver screen (formerly sometimes sheet) and the big screen (contrasted with the smaller screen of a television set). The latter terms, as well as their derivative adjectives 'cinematic' and 'kinematic', ultimately derive from Greek κίνημα, κινήματος ( kinema, kinematos)-'movement, motion'. However, some US theaters opt to use the British spelling in their own names, a practice supported by the National Association of Theatre Owners, while apart from Anglophone North America most English-speaking countries use the term cinema / ˈ s ɪ n ɪ m ə/, alternatively spelled and pronounced kinema / ˈ k ɪ n ɪ m ə/. In the US, theater has long been the preferred spelling, while in the UK, Australia, Canada and elsewhere it is theatre. Kay Theater in Rockdale, TexasĪ movie theater might also be referred to as a movie house, film house, film theater, cinema or picture house. Terminology The Fox Theater in Atlanta has an old-fashioned neon sign. In some jurisdictions, movie theaters can be licensed to sell alcoholic drinks. Movie theaters often sell soft drinks, popcorn and candy, and some theaters sell hot fast food. The audience members often sit on padded seats, which in most theaters are set on a sloped floor, with the highest part at the rear of the theater. The largest theater complexes, which are called multiplexes-a concept developed in Canada in the 1950s-have up to thirty screens.

In the 2010s, most movie theaters had multiple screens. The smallest movie theaters have a single viewing room with a single screen. Since the 2010s, the majority of movie theaters have been equipped for digital cinema projection, removing the need to create and transport a physical film print on a heavy reel.Ī great variety of films are shown at cinemas, ranging from animated films to blockbusters to documentaries.

Since the 1970s, subwoofers have been used for low-pitched sounds. The film is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium while the dialogue, sounds and music are played through a number of wall-mounted speakers.

Most are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing tickets. Tuschinski Theatre, in Amsterdam considered as one of the most beautiful movie theaters in the world.Ī movie theater ( American English), cinema ( British English), or cinema hall ( Indian English), also known as a movie house, picture house, picture theater or simply theater, is a business that contains auditoria for viewing films (also called movies, motion pictures or 'flicks') for public entertainment. The projector is displaying the 1997–2012 Universal Pictures logo. The view from the projectionist's booth at Ultimate Palace Cinema in Oxford.

This Art Deco-style theater opened in 1949. Modern cinema auditorium in Madrid, Spain Rodgers Theatre in Poplar Bluff in Missouri.

Carmike movie intermission length