Regent Street Cinema

This cinema, owned by the University of Westminster, was the first venue to show a motion picture in the UK, thanks to the Lumière brothers' Cinématographe projector in the late 1890s. Closed to the public since 1980 (and then used for lectures), the cinema reopened officially in 2015 following a £6.1m restoration. The redesign is pleasing to the eye, but the ground-floor section has been elevated to meet the front of the balcony, resulting in an usually steep and long run of seating that leaves the back half feeling rather removed from the screen. But with a good seat — and there are plenty — this is a very fine way of seeing a movie. Double bills of classic Hollywood, indie fare and arty foreign films dominate the schedule. Located a two-minute walk north of Oxford Circus.