London’s – actually Britain’s – first cinema was the Regent Street Cinema when the Lumière brothers’ Cinématographe machine was outed to the paying public on 21st February 1896. It was closed in 1980 to make way for a lecture theatre but after a three-year fundraising campaign, the cinema was restored to its former glory and reopened in May 2015. Today, it’s one of London’s best cinemas.
They show a mix of the latest releases, cult classics, foreign language films and documentaries and the auditorium is one of the prettiest in London. It’s worth the entrance money alone.