5 most famous cinemas of the world

1. Electric Cinema, Notting Hill, London, England.

This beautifully restored Grade II listed cinema on London’s iconic Portobello Road is easily the most luxurious and comfortable place to catch a movie in the British capital.

Patrons sit in sumptuous leather armchairs, each with its own cashmere blanket, footstool and side table to rest the wine and snacks brought to you by a waiter. 

Recent renovations have seen the first rows taken up by six double beds, and a row of spacious sofas up back.

There’s a new American-style doughnut bar in the foyer too, offering decadent flavours like Maple Bourbon, Bergamot Orange, Ginger Chew, Mexican Chocolate and Berry Trifle.

More information: Electric Cinema

2. Busan Cinema Centre, Korea

The Busan Cinema Center (also called "Dureraum", meaning enjoying seeing movies all together in Korean) is the official, exclusive venue of the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), where its opening and closing ceremonies take place, located in Centum City, Busan, South Korea. The about US$ 150 million (KRW 167.85 billion) center opened on September 29, 2011, almost three years after construction began. The building won the International Architecture Award and the Chicago Athenaeum in 2007. As of July 2013, it has the Guinness World Record for the longest cantilever roof. The center was designed by the Austrian architectural design firm Coop Himmelb(l)au and constructed by Hanjin Heavy Industries.

The center comprises three buildings (Cine Mountain, Biff Hill, and Double Cone), Biff Theater (an outdoor theater) with the Small Roof, and Dureraum Square with the Big Roof. The Busan Cinema Center, built on a 32,137 m² plot, occupies 54,335 m² of performance, dining, entertainment, and administrative space. The center has two steel roofs. The Big Roof is 163 m long x 60 m wide with an 85 m cantilever portion and weighs 6,376 (metric) tons. The Small Roof covering the outdoor theater BIFF Theater has a span of 70 m and an area of 66 m x 100 to 120 m and weighs 1,236 (metric) tons. The Big Roof is the longest cantilever roof certified by Guinness World Records. The ceilings of the Big and Small Roofs are clad with 23,910 and 18,690 LED lights respectively

More information: Dureraum's official website

3. Matadero Cineteca, Madrid, Spain

Tucked away in one of Madrid’s more unfashionable suburbs, Matadero Cineteca is the only cinema in Spain dedicated solely to showing documentary films.

It has two movie theatres, a movie studio, a café, a free-to-browse film archive, and a mission to inspire future filmmakers.

The building began its life as slaughterhouse, and much of its bare, brutal aesthetic remains. Brick walls are bare and exposed and repurposed irrigation pipes form part of the building's skeletal frames.

It seems it was always destined to become a cinema. When it was first abandoned, filmmakers used it to shoot scenes for war movies. And Pedro Almodóvar shot some scenes for his film Matador in 1986.More information: Cineteca Madrid

4. Elgin Winter Garden Theatre, Toronto, Canada

The Elgin & Winter Gardens Theatre is one of only two stacked Edwardian theatres in the world. Basically one theatre on top of another, it was built in 1913 to cater to two very different clientele.

The lower level theatre was home to continuous vaudeville acts and silent movies, while the upper-level Winter Garden was reserved for big name acts and more affluent patrons. 

The Winter Garden level was designed to evoke a country garden under the stars atmosphere and is painted with murals of plants and garden trellises, with tree trunk columns and lantern lights.

This elaborately furnished space plays host to screenings during the Toronto Film Festival, and can be admired on tours of the building that are held every day.

More information: Heritage Trust

5. Pathé Tuschinski, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Situated a stone's throw from Rembrandtplein in Amsterdam’s city centre, the Pathé Tuschinski is arguably the most beautiful Art Deco movie theatre in the world. Built by Abraham Icek Tuschinski, a Polish Jewish immigrant whose first intention had been to sail for America, it was the biggest cinema in the country and cost of 4 million guilders to build.

The cinema was designed to impress, with a grand entrance an imposing Art Deco façade and two towers rising above the neighbourhood. The decadent interior simply takes the breath away. 

Painstakingly restored, the main auditorium of the Tuschinski has been reduced to 740 sets, but with the addition of love seats and private boxes for a truly spectacular experience.

More information: Pathe's official website