Museum Lichtspiele
In 1907, Carl Gabriel opened a cinema in Munich that would later be considered one of the oldest in the world. However, the Gabriel Filmtheater on Dachauer Strasse had to close in 2019 after almost 112 years because it was no longer worth operating. But it was not the only house of the cinema pioneer in Munich. In 1910, Carl Gabriel founded a second cinema that bore his name in a former variety theater across from the Müllersches Volksbad near the Ludwigsbrücke. Today it is known as the Museum Lichtspiele. There is perhaps the best popcorn in town and four differently designed halls. Room 2 in the rococo style with plush red armchairs is particularly popular. The “Rocky Horror Picture Show” is shown here twice a week in the late screening – and has been for almost 45 years. Like almost all cinema productions, the film will be shown in English. The Museum Lichtspiele are also popular with families, as there are many children’s films in the programme. Admission for children up to and including eleven years of age costs 6.50 euros. Everyone else pays between 8.50 and 11.50 euros.
Museum LichtspieleLilienstrasse 2, 81669 Munich, 089/482403
Film theater at Sendlinger Tor
The Filmtheater am Sendlinger Tor was the third Munich cinema to be opened by Carl Gabriel. Films have been shown here since 1913, and since 1945 the cinema has been in the hands of the Preßmar family. In 2022, the cinema was awarded the program prize and the film theater program award of the state, because the Preßmar family keeps Carl Gabriel’s legacy alive in a traditional and modern way. “It is aware of the cultural responsibility in this prominent position and, with the Sendlinger Tor film theater, gives the cultural city of Munich a worthy entrance gate,” says the jury in its appreciation. The cinema is a listed monument, a pompous hall with a balcony and 400 red seats awaits visitors. The facade of the cinema with its hand-painted film posters is also special. The program includes upscale mainstream, German films and art house. Recordings of opera or ballet premieres from London’s Royal Opera House are occasionally shown on Sundays. The regular tickets cost between eight and eleven euros. Monday and Tuesday are cinema days, then admission costs eight euros.
Film theater at Sendlinger TorSendlinger-Tor-Platz 11, 80336 Munich, 089/554636
Astor Film Lounge at Arri
At the end of 2018, the Arri cinema in Maxvorstadt reopened – and has been focusing on luxury ever since. It’s now called the Astor Film Lounge in the Arri and instead of one hall there are now three, which are equipped with the latest cinema technology. The conversion of the traditional cinema cost around ten million euros. Since then, Arri has been serving cocktails, watching films on one of the city’s largest screens and making yourself comfortable on seats with adjustable backrests or lounge chairs with extendable footrests. One of the halls is a kind of club cinema with bookshelves, particularly cozy seats and service at the seat. Upscale mainstream and occasional live broadcasts from New York’s Metropolitan Opera are on the schedule. The audience should feel comfortable, but that has its price. Adults pay 12.50 euros until 4 p.m., after that 14.50 euros. For a box seat you pay 15 euros or 17 euros. The tickets for children up to the age of 14, seniors and the matinée on Sunday morning are slightly cheaper.
Astor Film Lounge at ArriTürkenstrasse 91, 80799 Munich
New Maxim
In 1912 the Lichtspieltheater des Westens opened in a former department store in Neuhausen. A few name changes and many film screenings later, after 104 years, the third-oldest cinema in the city was to be closed. But then the cinema and event manager Anne Harder, together with a few comrades-in-arms, prevented Maxim’s death and, with the help of a crowdfunding campaign, turned it into the New Maxim. The program previously consisted mainly of film art, which mostly did not correspond to mass taste. Since the cinema was renovated in 2016, art house, documentaries and children’s films have been shown here. Some of them are shown in the original with subtitles. There are also regular performances where babies are expressly welcome. The New Maxim has two halls, one is a small living room cinema with a few seats, four of which are beanbags. Regular admission costs 11.50 euros, the reduced price is 9.50 euros. You pay a little less for children’s films and a little more for longer ones. Tuesday is cinema day, then you can get a ticket for nine euros.
New MaximLandshuter Allee 33, 80637 Munich, 089/89059980
Theatine film
The seats might not be the most comfortable, but movie lovers have to love the Theatiner. Not only the old listed hall with the maple paneling has a certain charm. This cinema tells film history. Old film posters from Walter Kirchner’s Neue Filmkunst distributor hang in the foyer. He bought the cinema in 1957 and brought important films from the French Nouvelle Vague and then largely unknown classics by Buster Keaton, Sergej M. Eisenstein and Alfred Hitchcock to Germany. Just one year after the opening, Marlies Kirchner, Walter Kirchner’s wife, took over the management of the house – and she still runs it today. The Theatiner mainly shows current art house films in the original with subtitles, French films, for example, are often in the program. The Theatiner is not a popcorn cinema, but there are other sweets and drinks. The regular tickets cost 8.50 or 9.50 euros. Mondays and Tuesdays are cinema days, when tickets are available for seven euros.
Theatine filmTheatinerstrasse 32, 80333 Munich, 089/223183
Arena and Monopoly
With the Arena in the Glockenbachviertel and the Monopol in Schwabing, Christian Pfeil (pictured) has revived two Munich cinemas. The Arena has been around since 1912; however, before Pfeil took it over in 2006 together with Markus Eisele, business was not doing particularly well. The new operators added a hall to the cinema and modernized it a bit without giving up the old charm. Pfeil has held the monopoly since 2005, with Eisele joining later. After the cinema near the Münchner Freiheit had to give way to a new building in 2011, they reopened it in a former bowling alley near the Nordbad. There are now four cinema halls, one of which is a small cinema bar. Spectators can make themselves comfortable on comfortable seats and place drinks or snacks on small tables. However, there is no popcorn in either the Arena or the Monopol. For the operators, that doesn’t fit the art house films they want to show. Some of them are shown in the original with subtitles in both cinemas. In the Arena there is also a Czech film night every first Wednesday of the month, and every second Wednesday is queer film night. Many documentaries are shown at Monopol, and a sneak preview is on the program on Sundays, where films are shown in the original with subtitles. Tickets in both cinemas normally cost 10.50 euros. Admission to the cinema bar in the Monopol is slightly more expensive at 11.50 euros. In the Arena, it’s cinema day on Tuesdays, in the Monopol on Thursdays, then the tickets cost 8.50 euros. Incidentally, in 2021 Pfeil and Eisele also took over the Rio Filmpalast on Rosenheimer Platz.
arenaHans-Sachs-Strasse 7, 80469 Munich, 089/2603265/monopolySchleißheimer Strasse 127, 80797 Munich, 089/38888493
Cinema
At the end of the 1970s, the cinema on Nymphenburger Strasse is said to have been the first German cinema where popcorn was sold. The popcorn is still considered one of the best in town. The cinema is also characterized by its good sound, the technology is renewed regularly. In the hall with 411 seats, which are distributed over the stalls and a balcony, upscale mainstream is shown, but also blockbusters. All films are in English without subtitles. You can also hear a lot of English in the foyer, because the cinema is popular with people who have moved to Munich from the USA or England, for example. The tickets cost between 7.90 and 9.90 euros.
CinemaNymphenburger Strasse 31, 80335 Munich, 089/555255
Studio Isabela
“Film art in Schwabing since 1919”: Studio Isabella advertises itself with this slogan. You really don’t find the big blockbusters in the program. Independent films are shown in the original language with German subtitles. Every Wednesday, the “Cine Español” series shows a film from Spain or Latin America in the original with subtitles. The regular tickets cost between eight and ten euros. Monday is cinema day, when you can watch films for eight euros.
Studio IsabelaNeureutherstrasse 29, 80799 Munich, 089/2718844
movie museum
Retrospectives, themed film series and even silent films: the film museum on Sankt-Jakobs-Platz is a paradise for film fans. For example, you can see classics like “Metropolis” or films by Munich directors. All films are shown in their original format and in the original language with German or English subtitles. Occasionally, after the screenings, directors or actors answer questions from the audience. Entry costs four euros.
movie museumSankt-Jakobs-Platz 1, 80331 Munich, 089/23396450
workshop cinema
The workshop cinema is hidden in a basement in the backyard of the Fraunhofer tavern. Before this place became a movie theater, it was the inn’s bowling alley. The small arthouse cinema with 46 seats has not shown mainstream cinema since 1976, but rather independent films and sometimes the odd. It is run by an association, the members track down the films themselves. Splatter, westerns, documentaries: the program changes from week to week and is always full of surprises. Admission costs between 4.50 and 6 euros.
workshop cinemaFraunhoferstrasse 9, 80469 Munich, 089/2607250