English-language cinema in Barcelona

The five-screen Verdi and Verdi Park (see below) have transformed this corner of Gràcia with a diverse programme of independent – mainly European and Asian – cinema. At peak times it’s best to arrive early and make sure you don’t confuse the queue to enter with the one to buy tickets. There are plenty of good nearby eateries for pre- or post-movie food and drink.

The little brother of the Verdi (see above), this four-screen annex on the next street has smaller screens but the same solid art-house programming.

Renoir Floridablanca screens up to ten American, British and Spanish films (and occasionally some from other countries) in their original language every day. Though programming tends towards the indie genre, they increasingly make space for Hollywood blockbusters.

Located just metres from the Sant Pau Art Nouveau Site, until December 2014, Phenomena was an itinerant undertaking, screening its repertoire of classic hits and dedicated cycles in different venues around town. However, such was the success of initiatives such as 'Jaws'–'Alien' double sessions, that organisers decided to move into a permanent home, taking over the closed-down Nápols cinema.

This large multiplex has all the atmosphere of the near-empty shopping centre that surrounds it. But what it lacks in charm, it makes up for in choice, with 15 screens offering blockbusters as well as mainstream foreign and Spanish releases. At the weekend they usually have numbered seating, so it’s worth booking your tickets in advance.

Centrally located in the Barri Gòtic, this small cinema has come up with a novel way of getting bums on seats – when you buy your ticket, you get access to the cinema for that whole day, so you can see up to seven films for the price of one. Rates vary according to the day, from €4.50 on Wednesdays to €9 on weekends and public holidays.

The most recent addition to the original-language landscape, this is a 12-screen, modern cinema with big, comfortable seats and stadium seating that guarantees a good view. Tickets will set you back €9 at the weekends, but on Wednesdays the price is cut to €4.90.

The films in this four-screen cinema, which closed down for several years before re-opening with a state-of-the-art sound system, are shown in their original versions and subtitled in Catalan.