- published: 07 May 2016
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A movie theater (also called a movie house, film theater, film house, picture theater or cinema) is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ("movies" or "films").
Most but not all movie theaters are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing a ticket. The movie is projected with a movie projector onto a large projection screen at the front of the auditorium. Some movie theaters are now equipped for digital cinema projection, removing the need to create and transport a physical film print.
Outside of North America, most English-speaking countries use the term cinema ( /ˈsɪnɨmə/), formerly spelled "kinema"[citation needed] (/ˈkɪnɨmə/). Both terms, as well as their derivative adjectives "cinematic" and "kinematic," ultimately derive from Greek κινῆμα, -ατος, (kinema, -atos) "movement", "motion". In these areas the term "theatre" is usually restricted to live-performance venues.
In the United States, the customary spelling is "theater", but the National Association of Theatre Owners uses the spelling "theatre" to refer to a movie theater.
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