Vitascope Hall in New Orleans is considered to be the first movie theater in the United States dedicated exclusively to showing motion pictures. In general, the first cinemas began to appear at the end of the 1900s. They almost did not differ from halls for meetings or concerts (in Kharkiv, cinemas of Dmytro Kharitonov Apollo 1907, Ves svit 1907, Modern 1907, arch. M. Dykansky, Michel, Pompeii and Empire 1913, architect A.I. Horokhov; cinema on Nollendorfplatz in Berlin, 1910, architect O. Kaufman; Khudozhny in Moscow, 1910, architect F. O . Shekhtel, etc.) In the 1920s, cinemas with a variety of architecture (neoclassical, baroque, Gothic, etc.) were built with a traditional theater layout and lavish interior decor (Capitol in Berlin, 1925 , architect H. Pelzig), and strictly functional, distinguished by the maximum convenience of seating in the audience hall (Universum in Berlin, 1928, architect E. Mendelsohn; Udarnyk in Moscow, 1928-31, architect B. M. Yofan). So-called super cinemas (for 4,000-5,000 spectators) appeared, with the wide use of metal structures that made it possible to overlap larger spans (in Stamford Hill, Great Britain, 1928, etc.). Since 1934, smaller houses (1200-2200 spectators) with simplified architectural forms and cozy interiors have been built in Western Europe (Palace in Chatham, Great Britain, 1934).

In the 1950s and 1960s, cinemas of special types of cinema appeared - stereo cinema (with three-dimensional image), circular cinema panorama. Large cinema-concert halls with 2,500-4,000 seats of universal purpose, the technical equipment and acoustics of which ensure the production of larger concert programs and the showing of all types of films (regular, wide-screen and wide-format), are becoming widespread.

Odeon is the largest chain of cinemas in Great Britain and one of the largest in Europe.