Grand cinemas
Nevsky Pr. 60
Avrora is the city’s oldest functioning film theater and has been showing movies since 1913. It even witnessed the first successes of the now big-name directors, such as Aleksei Balabanov and his film Brother. Avrora today is a two-hall movie theater with sophisticated aesthetics. Its repertoire consists of new releases, popular movies, on-screen ballet and plays, and more.
Karavannaya St. 12
One of the city’s oldest cinemas, Rodina is a classy venue with three halls: two small and one grand hall with stalls and a balcony. Apart from Russian movies, its program features international short and indie films, as well as special showings of ballet, plays, and Artpokaz movies. On Mondays, you can enjoy movies for 150 rubles.
Karavannaya St. 12
The next-door neighbor to Rodina Cinema, Dom Kino is a movie theater with a rich history that still delights audiences with a superb collection of movies, including new releases, iconic classics, and original-language screenings.
Kamennoostrovsky Pr. 10
Lenfilm Studio is a theater arm of the eponymous production company, which has released such all-famous Russian movies as The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson (1979–1986) and Heart of a Dog (1988). In addition to their own works and popular movies, the cinema hosts festival and indie movies, as well as ballet and plays, also in their original languages.
All venues here
Formula Kino offers, perhaps, the truest movie theater experience with popcorn and soda, around-town venues, and new releases. Although most of the movies on view are in Russian, the chain also frequently shows movies, concert films, TheaterHD ballet and plays, and more in other languages, too.
Low-key cinemas
Malaya Morskaya St. 24
Located inside the chic and mysterious Angleterre Hotel, the theater offers a mix of festival and indie movies, with occasional on-screen ballet and plays from the TheaterHD collection, in their original languages. The theater’s program also includes private screenings, as well as film screenings accompanied by panel discussions.
Kovensky Lane 14
This community-based microcinema specializes in cult indie and modern arthouse films, as well as experimental animation and contemporary Russian movies. Themed screenings are oftentimes preceded with talks by expert lecturers. The scope of languages varies greatly, from English to Italian and even Korean.
Other venues
Maly Pr. P.S. 82
This coffee shop, based in the heart of Petrogradsky District, is noted for its specialty coffee, all-day breakfasts, and signature to-go coffee cups, as well as regular screenings of popular movies in Russian and English. Free movie nights are held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. All you need to do is make an order (a drink + a meal) once you’re at the spot.
ITMO’s Speaking Club often hosts movie nights as part of their meetings. You can learn more about them here. For movie recs, inspiration, and everything movie-related check out our Movies tag.
