Going to the movies is a favorite pastime for people around the world, but not every theater settles for cookie-cutter construction, sticky seats and the ever-present smell of buttered popcorn.
These weird but wonderful movie theaters from around the world prove that sometimes the venue can be just as entertaining as the movie.
Cinespia, Hollywood Forever Cemetery
The grounds of Los Angeles’ Hollywood Forever Cemetery are the final resting place for many an Old Hollywood actor, so it makes sense that this Hollywood cemetery would also be a favorite local spot for outdoor movie screenings. Here, cinema lovers bring blankets, chairs and snacks and cozy up among the gravestones to watch screenings of everything from James Bond classics to comedies like “Coming to America” and horror flicks like “Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” Before and after the movie, DJs keep the cemetery lively with music on the lawn.
The Lexi Cinema, London
On first glance, the outside of London’s Lexi Cinema looks more like a rustic cottage than it does a movie theater, but luckily, it makes its true identity known fairly quickly with the huge pronouncement, “I AM A CINEMA. LOVE ME,” across the front of the building. Seating just 80 attendees, The Lexi Cinema is an intimate boutique cinema with both reclining seats and wide chairs, all under twinkling pink lights. What really makes The Lexi Cinema cool, though, is that they donate 100 percent of their profits to charity.
Cine de Chef, Seoul, South Korea
Buckets of popcorn and cheesy, jalapeno-laden nachos are hardly de rigueur at Seoul’s Cine de Chef, where going to the movies is nothing short of a luxurious affair. Here, you can watch all of the latest releases in an exclusive theater that seats just 60 attendees. The indulgence doesn’t end there, though: beyond the uber-lush seating, you’ll also dine on Asian, Italian and French fare cooked up by Le Cordon Bleu-certified chefs.
Light House Cinema, Dublin
While most of today’s modern movie theaters offer little beyond dark, ho-hum interiors, the designers of Dublin’s Light House Cinema saw opportunity to push the envelope when it came to interior design. The result is a four-screen theater with rainbow colors throughout, offering a livelier take on the traditionally drab theater. One screen is filled with purple, red, green, orange and blue chairs, while another is surrounded by blocks of color in reds, yellows, greens and blues. Yet another screen is decked out fully in solid red, from the carpets to the chairs to the walls, while the last is surrounded with blue-purple walls and blue chairs, backlit with down lights that create a tranquil setting in which you can check out Hollywood’s latest flick.
(Main image: Mike Saechang used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license)
