The dawn of home entertainment systems has meant that fewer people now attend the cinema to see the latest blockbuster films.
Despite this, many of us have happy memories of going to our nearest picture house to see the latest release.
Local cinemas were quite often the vocal point of communities and quite often where romance blossomed.
Read more: Belfast theatres that are no longer with us
With the dawn of the multiplex, many locally owned, independent cinemas closed and now with the rise of streaming services, fewer are going to see films at the cinema.
However, despite this trend, new cinematic experiences such as The Avenue at Castlecourt and the 4DX at Cineworld in the Odyssey, going to the cinema is now seen as an experience.
Casting our minds back, we have made a list of some of the cinemas from across Northern Ireland that kept us entertained through the years and where one or two relationships began.
Check out our list of cinemas below and let us know your favourite memories of going to the cinema in the comments.
The ABC
The ABC on Fisherwick Place, Belfast was originally opened as The Ritz in 1936 by English actress Gracie Fields. The cinema also catered to live entertainment including a performance by The Beatles in 1963. In the same year it was renamed The ABC and in 1977 it was gutted by a fire bomb. The cinema reopened in 1980 and was again renamed the Cannon Film Centre in 1986. The building closed in 1993 and was later demolished to make way for a hotel.
The Apollo
Th Apollo was situated at the corner of Ormeau Road and Agincourt Avenue. It was opened on 30th October 1933 by the McVea family before being sold to the Curran Theatres chain in 1941. The cinema was later sold to The Rank Organisation before it closed in 1962. In recent years the building housed an Asian supermarket and was eventually demolished in November 2022.
Broadway Picture House
The Broadway Picture House opened on 12th December 1936 and was the largest cinema in the city at the time. It was sold to the Rank Organisation in 1955 and on the night of 31st January 1972, the Broadway Cinema was set on fire by the IRA. The damage could have been repaired but the owners took the decision to close due to the violence at the time.
The Capitol
The Capitol Cinema was situated at the junction of Antrim Road and Alexander Gardens and opened on 9th November 1935. It on 11 January 1975. The building was demolished and replaced by Stewarts Supermarket. Today, a Tesco store occupies the site.
The Curzon
The Curzon was opened on Saturday December 12th 1936 - the same day as the Park Cinema and Broadway Cinema. The cinema was ravaged by fire caused by incendiaries in 1977 and reopened three months later. In the early-1980’s, the Curzon reinvented itself yet again by transforming into a three screen complex. The Curzon Cinema was closed on 9th April 1999 due to competition from the newer multiplex cinemas. It was demolished in 2003 and Curzon Apartments have been built on the site.
The Forum
The Forum Cinema opened on 20 November 1937 and was the last of cinema in the city to open before World War II. It closed on 28 January 1967. Although the façade and foyer have been rebuilt as offices for a credit union, the main auditorium is still intact and forms part of the Crumlin Star Social Club.
The Iveagh
The Iveagh Cinema opened in Banbridge on 3rd December 1955. The cinema was put up for sale in October 1999 and eventually closed on 31 March 2001. The building was demolished in spring 2004 around the time that a new multiplex bearing The Iveagh name opened in the town.
The New Vic
The New Vic opened as The Royal Hippodrome Theatre in 1907. It became the Hippodrome Cinema in 1931 and later the Royal Hippodrome in 1938. The Rank Organisation took over the cinema in 1960 and it was modernised, reopening as The Odeon in 1961. By 1974, The Rank Organisation had taken the decision to pull out of Northern Ireland and the cinema was taken over by an independent operator who renamed it The New Vic. The cinema was later converted to a bingo hall in 1987 and was eventually demolished in 1996 to make way for a hotel.
The Regal
The Regal Cinema in Larne first opened on 13th March 1937. It closed in August 1986 and was converted into a bingo hall before reopening as a 4-screen cinema on 20th November 1992 and closed again in late-May 2001. The building was empty until it was damaged in an arson attack in 2008.
The Ambassador
The Ambassador Cinema opened on 16th December 1936 and was owned by D. D. Young but, as an independent, was unable to acquire the top films. In later years it showed mainly continental pornography, but eventually closed on 4th March 1972.
The Avenue
The Avenue first opened as The Picture House on 19th June 1911. It later became part of The Rank Organisation and was modernised and renamed The Avenue in 1965. The cinema was damaged in a bomb at the nearby Grand Central Hotel in 1974. The Avenue closed on 23rd October 1982 and was used as a bingo hall for a period before being demolished in 1987 to make way for the Castlecourt Shopping Centre. A cinema baring it's name reopened in Castlecourt on 10th March 2023.
The Castle
Situated on the corner of Castlereagh Road and Clara Street, the Castle Cinema opened in October 1934. As an independent, the Castle Cinema struggled to survive and owner James Crawford was forced to show so many cowboy films that it became known as ‘The Ranch’. It closed on 26th March 1966.
The Metro
Located opposite Ulster Hospital on the corner of East Link, Dundonald, The Metro Cinema opened on 3rd September 1956. Located in a then sparsely populated area, it had to compete with television and more convenient city cinemas. So it was soon in difficulties. It closed on 29th March 1961, giving it the dubious distinction of being the shortest-lived lifespan of any modern Northern Ireland cinema.
The New Princess Palace
The New Princess Palace opened on 29th July 1912, right across the road from the Princess Cinema that had opened two years earlier. The subsequent confusion led to the earlier cinema being known as the Old Princess Cinema, while the newer cinema became known as the New Princess Palace. The original plans for the cinema included a central windmill feature but the sails were never installed. The New Princess Palace closed on 2nd April 1960.
Tivoli Cinema
The Tivoli opened on 17th June 1955. It was refurbished and re-named Gaumont on 26th December 1966 before reverting to the Tivoli under an independent operator after The Rank Organisation left Northern Ireland in 1974. However, this was short lived and the cinema closed its doors on 7th June 1975.
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