Movie theater

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The view from the projectionist's booth at Ultimate Palace Cinema in Oxford. The
picture the projector is displaying is the 1997 Universal Pictures Logo.

Rodgers Theatre in Poplar Bluff in Missouri. This Art Deco-style theatre opened in
1949.

A cinema auditorium in Australia

A movie theater (also called a cinema) is a venue, usually a building, that contains an
auditorium for viewing films for entertainment. Most, but not all, movie theaters are
commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing a ticket.

Some movie theaters, however, are operated by non-profit organizations or societies

which charge members a membership fee to view films.
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. Since the 1970s, subwoofers have been used for low-pitched
sounds. In the 2010s, most movie theaters are equipped for digital cinema projection,
removing the need to create and transport a physical film print on a heavy reel.
A great variety of films are shown at cinemas, ranging from animated films for children,
blockbusters for general audiences and documentaries for patrons who are interested in
non-fiction topics. The smallest movie theaters have a single viewing room with a single
screen. In the 2010s, most movie theaters have multiple screens. The largest theater
complexes, which are called multiplexesa design developed in the U.S. in the 1960s
have up to 25 screens. The audience members typically sit on padded seats which in
most theaters are set up on a sloped floor, with the highest part at the rear of the theater.
Movie theaters typically sell soft drinks, popcorn and candy and some theaters also sell
hot fast food. In some jurisdictions, movie theaters are licensed to sell alcoholic drinks.

Contents

1 Terminology

2 History
o 2.1 Magic lantern shows
o 2.2 Silent film

3 Design
o 3.1 Multiplexes and megaplexes
o 3.2 Drive-in
o 3.3 Other venues
o 3.4 3D
o 3.5 IMAX

4 Programming

5 Presentation
o 5.1 Live broadcasting to movie theaters

6 Pricing and admission

o 6.1 Luxury screens

o 6.2 Age restrictions
o 6.3 Revenue

6.3.1 New forms of competition

o 6.4 Ticket price uniformity

o 6.5 Ticket check

7 Controversies

8 Intimacy

9 Cinema and movie theater chains

10 See also

11 References

12 External links

Terminology

The Fox Theater in Atlanta, Georgia has an old-fashioned neon sign.

A movie theater may also be referred to as a movie theatre, movie house, film house,
film theater or picture house. In the US, theater has long been the preferred spelling,
while in the UK, Canada and elsewhere it is theatre.[1]
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 North
America most English-speaking countries use the term cinema /snm/, alternatively
spelled and pronounced kinema /knm/.[2][3][4] The latter terms, as well as their
derivative adjectives "cinematic" and "kinematic", ultimately derive from Greek ,

 (kinema, kinematos)"movement", "motion". In the countries where those

terms are used, the word "theatre" is usually reserved for live performance venues.
Colloquial 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). 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). A screening room is a small theater, often a private
one, such as for the use of those involved in the production of motion pictures or in a
large private residence.
The etymology of the term "movie theatre" involves the term "movie", which is a
"shortened form of moving picture in the cinematographic sense" that was first used in
1896 [5] and "theatre", which originated in the "...late 14c., [meaning an] "open air place
in ancient times for viewing spectacles and plays". The term "theater" comes from the
Old French word "theatre", from the 12th century and "...directly from Latin theatrum
[which meant] 'play-house, theater; stage; spectators in a theater'", which in turn came
from the Greek word "theatron", which meant "theater; the people in the theater; a show,
a spectacle," [or] literally "place for viewing." The use of the word "theatre" to mean a
"building where plays are shown" dates from the 1570s in the English language.[6]