Film

Hollywood or Bollywood? Classic or blockbuster? Birmingham cinema gives you film at its finest from spacious and welcoming multiplexes to the UK’s oldest working cinema or art house cool.

The Electric Cinema

This magical cinema in central Birmingham is the oldest working cinema in the UK.

For a night out at the flicks there are plenty of great cinemas to choose from in Birmingham and the surrounding area.

Let’s start with the biggest. In the city centre there’s both a Cineworld and Odeon and you’ll find Vue over at Star City, one of the largest cinemas complexes in the world with 30 different screens. There’s also a nine-screen Cineworld in Solihull and a Showcase Cinema in Dudley, over in the Black Country. The Giant Screen at Millennium Point is the largest screen in the Midlands, showing the latest blockbusters in both 3D and 2D.

The magical Electric Cinema in central Birmingham is the oldest working cinema in the UK.  Opened in 1909, the refurbished Electric is not short on home comforts with its luxury sofa seating, waiter service and full bar. What better way to enjoy independent and intelligent mainstream films. Plus they’ve real surprises now and then, such as old favourites like Jaws accompanied live by the Electric Cinema Film Orchestra. The Electric also hosted a private birthday party for Katy Perry when she visited Birmingham in 2011.  

At the Midlands Art Centre see the most compelling output from the world of art house; all in a fantastic venue that’s a real cultural melting pot. Just across town, the Piccadilly has the finest Asian cinema, while places like Cineworld or Vue at Star City also show a regular programme of Bollywood’s best.

A visit to Light House in Wolverhampton is highly recommended. It's an excellent spot to experience and further your understanding of visual media.  Light House is an independent cinema as well offering media training courses, photography exhibitions, educational activities and conference spaces. 

Birmingham has its own cinema festival. Each year, Flatpack Festival celebrates the wild frontier of film culture, presenting work in an eclectic array of unexpected spaces and places All centred on the shared experience of watching great cinema.

Search our EXPLORE cinema listings here