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A trip to the cinema is a nostalgic pastime for many Australians. The buttery smell of popcorn wafting through the foyer, retro signboards listing the day’s screenings, pleading with your parents for a choc-top and settling into a tufted red seat – just in time to watch the full 20 minutes of ads.
These days, theatre dates are more of a novelty, with many of us opting to stream from the comfort of our own couch at the touch of a button. But there’s something magical about seeing a movie on the big screen, especially in one of the world’s finest theatres.
To celebrate the movie meccas still thriving, Time Out’s Global Film Editor Phil de Semlyen teamed up with local kino experts from around the globe to put together a list of the 100 greatest cinemas on the planet right now. The list spotlights almost entirely single-use picture houses rather than venues that double up as theatres or gig venues – and six of them are right here in Australia.
The highest-ranking Aussie cinema on the list is the spectacular Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace in Sydney’s Cremorne, landing at number 30. This 90-year-old Art Deco gem is a stunning step back in time, featuring six glitzy auditoria, each with its own colour scheme. However, the true star of the show is the 744-seat Orpheum, where a genuine Wurlitzer cinema organ rises from a stage pit on weekend evenings, complete with flashing lights and a grinning organist.
Sydney’s small but perfectly formed Golden Age Cinema and Bar in Surry Hills is the second Aussie theatre spotlighted in position 40. Once home to Paramount Pictures in Australia from 1940 to the 1970s, this cinema draws deep on Hollywood’s history abroad. Converted into a boutique theatre in 2013, its 1940s seats – sourced from as far afield as Zurich – now host cult classics alongside special screenings of current indie gems.
Crowned Australia’s most beautiful theatre in 2025, Melbourne’s Astor Theatre cracked the global list of the greatest cinemas at number 61. Dating back to 1936, this grand Art Deco treasure is the city’s oldest single-screen theatre and has survived several crises to earn heritage status. It’s a rep cinema haven, famous for legendary screenings like Talking Heads’ Stop Making Sense, while also hosting 75mm presentations of the latest blockbusters.
Three more Aussie venues cracked the top 100: Adelaide’s historic Regal Theatre at 71, Melbourne’s eight-screen Sun Theatre at 72, and Broome’s all-weather Sun Pictures at 96. Fun fact: This Western Australian icon is the oldest operating picture garden in the world, and also one of the most remote. You can explore the full list of the 100 Greatest Cinemas here.
The greatest cinemas in Australia, according to Time Out:
30. Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, Sydney
40. Golden Age Cinema and Bar, Sydney
61. The Astor Theatre, Melbourne
71. The Regal Theatre, Adelaide
72. The Sun Theatre, Melbourne
96. Sun Pictures, Broome