What is the difference between a cinema and a movie theater?

Answer by  jclick (1561)

Technically "cinema" and "movie theater" mean the same thing. The word "cinema" is more commonly used in British English and "movie theater" is used in American English. Sometimes the word cinema is used in American English to indicate a theater that shows independent or critically acclaimed films, but otherwise the words can be used interchangably.

Answer by  KW29 (163)

There is not differnce between a cinema and a movie theater. There is a difference between a movie theater and a regular theater. The regular theater with a stage, live action, and actors. Cinema is simply just another name for a film or a movie. I recommend seeing a live theater perfomance at least once.

Answer by  diva25 (4016)

There is no difference. They are two different words that mean the same thing. It is like saying sofa or couch. There is no difference between the two. It may very well be a regional thing.

Answer by  elynne (1153)

General a cinema plays fewer movies and the movies they show are of a more specific gene (ie. oldies, independent filmakers, non-main stream categories) Additionally cinema are many times off harder to find, located in off the path locations. Movie theater are usually larger, easier to find and trying to please the largest group of viewers

Answer by  Inked (278)

A cinema is made to be more alluring and have more available seating, the service is better and the quality of watching a film is improved overall. A movie theater is just a location where there's a big screen, a snack counter, and some fancy movie posters plastered on the walls.

Answer by  janezetta (244)

It's really a matter of opinion to be exact, but the general idea is that a cinema is where films that are of higher quality are show while a movie theater is a bit lower down on the scale; plus sometimes its a matter of the type of film. Films with more artistic and creative merit are shown in cinemas.

Answer by  ReZoN (94)

A cinema is a a huge room with seats and a usually cloth riden sheet, usually a projector is used to display the video on the sheet. A movie theater can be any place used to watch movies, they can even be your bed room.