Vienna can easily keep up with Hollywood or Brooklyn – at least as far as the city’s cinemas are concerned. The US industry magazine “Variety” has voted the Vienna Filmcasino into the list of the 21 coolest cinemas in the world! No wonder, when you look at the unique 50s design and the cinematic interior. Find out why “Var iety” counts the Filmcasino as the coolest cinema in the world and which other cinemas with an Austrian connection are on the list here.
Filmcasino is one of the coolest cinemas in the world
The Filmcasino in Vienna-Margareten takes visitors back in time. The jury from “Variety” also appreciates this. The elegant Filmcasino in Vienna was opened back in 1911. “But what makes it unmistakable is its carefully preserved neon sign from the 1950s and its interior design with a wood-paneled mural on the theme of the jungle,” says the well-known entertainment magazine, explaining its decision.
International film festivals are regularly held here today. The cinema itself also has a cinematic history: the owner of the cinema died in a concentration camp, after which the Filmcasino had to survive a fire. The cinema was then reopened in 1989. Today, it is one of the most popular movie theaters in Vienna – the operators measured the Filmcasino’s busiest year in terms of attendance as recently as 2024. In addition to current films, you will also find a bar with a DJ area and a large selection of drinks and snacks.
“What makes the Filmcasino so special is not just its fantastic 1950s architecture, its beautiful neon lettering on the mirrored façade or its rich history. It’s the vibrant life, the great films and today’s audience that make it one of the best places for cinema lovers in Europe,” the newspaper quotes Viennese cinema operator Gerald Knell.
Worldwide cinema paradise with Viennese architecture
The Vienna Filmcasino has made it onto a par with world-famous cinemas such as the Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard or the Electric Cinema in London. The Indian Raj Mandir Cinema in Jaipur was voted the world’s coolest movie theater by Variety. In Europe, other winners include the Tuchinski Theater in Amsterdam and the Grand Rex in Paris.
But you will also find a second cinema with a connection to Austria on the list. The South Korean Busan Cinema Center was also voted the coolest cinema in the world by “Variety”. It was designed by none other than the Viennese architecture firm Coop Himmelb(l)au. And it is precisely the special design that makes the cinema so unique. It has the longest self-supporting roof in the world, which creates a “virtual sky” from thousands of LED lights.