Now Playing: 15 Cool Movie Theaters Around the World

Alamo Drafthouse: Austin, Texas

No ads before the feature. I’ll say that again to let it sink in – no ads before the feature. How brilliant is that! That isn’t the only thing done right at the Alamo Drafthouse. Not only has the theater hosted films for South By Southwest and the Quentin Tarantino Film Festival, they have interactive events that have included sing-alongs, quote alongs and air sex competition (think air guitar but dirty). Actually, that last one may be something that’s so wrong that it’s right.

Now a chain of theaters in Texas, with one in Virginia, the original was founded in 1997 and the theaters show a mix of recent releases, cult classics and indie films.

320 E 6th Street
512-476-1320

Paradiso Cinema Café Bar: Wanaka, New Zealand

Enjoy your film from an old comfy sofa or armchair, airline seat or inside a yellow Morris Minor car at Paradiso Cinema. Make sure to stop by the café; the food is way beyond the classic popcorn and candy. They have curry, lasagna, homemade pizza, fish pie, cakes, and enormous homemade cookies along with wine, beer and hot chocolate.

The King Kong feature isn’t permanent; the decor changes – they like to keep things exciting. Take all of that and include the combination of blockbusters and art films shown, and you can see why it’s one of Wanaka’s biggest attractions.

1 Ardmore Street
+64 3 443 1505

Cinémathèque Française : Paris, France

In the 12th arrondissement of Paris is the Cinémathèque Française, a museum/movie theater that celebrates cinema and houses the world’s largest film archive collection. Film stills are projected onto the pale wheat colored stone of the lobby, and the second floor is a permanent museum. Designed by legendary architect Frank Gehry, the building was recently restored and redesigned.

They screen silent movies, rare films and classics from their 40,000+ collection in the 415 seat theater. These showings are focused as tributes and retrospectives, for example, the Brunette/Blonde exhibition will present 50 films over 4 months that relate to hairstyles along with museum exhibits and analysis: In Hitchcock’s film Vertigo, the spiral in Kim Novak’s chignon symbolized the perils he found in the female sex. Who knew?

15 rue de Bercy
01 71 19 32 00

Rooftop Cinema: Melbourne, Australia

Rooftop Cinema is a seasonal theater on the top floor of a building that also houses a kung fu academy, a bookstore and a cookie bar. With 185 brightly colored deck chairs on synthetic grass, the theater serves food and drinks. They show arthouse films along with some new releases, but you may find yourself distracted by the views across Melbourne.

Blankets are available to rent in case it gets chilly and you want to snuggle up.

252 Swanston Street Walk
+61 3 9663 3596

Colosseum Kino: Oslo, Norway

Watching on the big screen is redefined at the Colosseum; it is the world’s largest THX theater with 950 seats. With such an amazing screen, you can bet money that there will be lines outside the theater and people camping out for big releases (think Lord of the Rings). Once you see an action or sci-fi flick on this screen, no other screen will live up to the experience.

Fridtjof Nansens vie 6
+47 82 05 0001

Cine de Chef: Seoul, Korea

Cine de Chef is high-end dining and cinema with a large helping of over the top luxury. Watch the latest films while sipping from champagne and noshing on fine French and Italian food prepared by chefs who graduated from Le Cordon Bleu.

There are speakers in the floor and ceiling and plush easy chairs worth $8,500. And yes, that’s the price per chair. Definitely the place to take someone you want to impress.

CGV B3F, 602 Shinsa-dong, Gangnam-gu
+82-2-3446-0541

AMC Pacific Place Cinema: Hong Kong

The AMC Pacific Place Cinema, in a premier shopping center, has futuristic and sleek decor; I mean look at the design of the ladies room! Peter Chan, the designer of the theater said:

For the auditorium, the idea is to create a luxurious (this cinema is charging the highest ticket price in the city) and elegant experience for the audience. In short, we created this cinema to be a total entertainment experience, to wow the audience not just with the movie.

One Pacific Place, 88 Queensway Road
+852 2265 8933