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What makes a great cinema? Is it cheap tickets, comfy seats, fancy snacks, or just a great programming philosophy and a sound system powerful enough to turn a Hans Zimmer score into a weapon of mass destruction? Weighing up all these factors on a long list of near-on a thousand cinemas, we’re proud to announce Time Out’s pick of the 50 very finest cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
Thirteen London cinemas make the cut. The highest ranking is BFI Southbank at number three, followed by Odeon Luxe Leicester Square (six) and legendary Prince Charles Cinema rounding out the top ten.
South Kensington’s newly refurbished Ciné Lumière also makes the list, along with the recently expanded Lexi Cinema in Kensal Rise, Rio and Close-Up in Hackney, and East Finchley’s historic Phoenix Cinema.
Also on the list? SE15’s beloved Peckhamplex, The Castle in Homerton, Everyman’s Screen on the Green, and Curzon Soho.
Ranging from cosy indies, to ultra-luxe modern picture houses, to colossal multiplexes, to art deco one-screeners, the 50 cinemas represent the very best of British and Irish movie houses. Read the full list here.
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