Lebanon has always had a love affair with the movies. In the 1960s, Beirut was often called the cinema capital of the Arab world. UNESCO records show that in 1960, the average Lebanese went to the movies 22.5 times a year, second only to Hong Kong.
Cinemas weren’t just places to catch the latest from Cairo, Hollywood, or Europe; they became woven into the very life of the country. Over time, these spaces took on new roles: shelters and gathering points. To walk through Lebanon’s cinema history is to see a story much larger than the screen itself.
Crystal Cinema
By the mid-1920s, cinemas were everywhere in Beirut—and they weren’t just for popcorn and movie dates. They became meeting points for social movements. In 1925, the Communist Party gathered at the Crystal Cinema, proving that the screen wasn’t the only reason people walked through its doors. These buildings doubled as civic halls, places where ideas and communities could take shape.
Tabarja Drive-In Cinema
In the 1950s, a Venezuelan immigrant had the idea to bring Lebanon its first drive-in cinema in Tabarja, north of Beirut. It quickly became the ultimate date spot—couples in cars, headlights off, watching the likes of Robert De Niro flicker across the giant screen.
Its popularity spawned open-air cinemas across the country. But today, that same site tells a different story. Turned into a military base, its marquee now reads “Barracks Drive-In,” its gates barred and silent. What was once a place of romance and laughter now sits as a quiet echo of a bygone era.
Le Colisée
Opened in 1945, Le Colisée was once the crown jewel of Hamra, a red-carpet cinema that drew crowds for decades before closing around 1984.
Left abandoned for years, its elegant auditorium might have seemed frozen in time—until history caught up with it again. In October 2024, as Israeli bombardments devastated Beirut, Colisée reopened in the most unexpected way: not with premieres, but with mattresses. Families fleeing southern Lebanon found safety in the same hall where filmgoers once sat in velvet seats.
By September 2025, the cinema was ready for yet another rebirth, reopening as the Lebanese National Theater in Beirut. Today, it stands as both a national treasure and a reminder that culture and survival often meet under the same roof.
The Grand Théâtre
The Grand Théâtre was once the glittering cultural stage of Beirut, hosting ballets, concerts, literary events, and international films. By the 1960s, it operated mainly as a cinema, but the civil war transformed it yet again.
At one point, its grand halls became a field hospital, saving lives in the very space that once celebrated art. Today, its crumbling facade still whispers of its layered past—glamour, art, war, and resilience all under one roof.
Ishbilia Cinema
In 1982, when air raids battered Lebanon, the people of Saida found safety behind the doors of Ishbilia Cinema. Its screen fell silent, but its walls provided the kind of comfort no ticket could buy. Ishbilia’s story is emblematic of how cinemas here have always been more than entertainment—they’ve been lifelines in the toughest moments.
Metropolis Cinema
Even in the 2000s, Lebanon’s cinemas still found themselves serving the people in extraordinary ways. During the 2006 Israel–Hezbollah conflict, Hamra’s indie gem Metropolis, newly opened, transformed into a shelter.
Displaced families camped inside, and the staff even played movies for children to keep their spirits up. It was a reminder that even in war, the magic of cinema could soothe and protect.
The Egg
Few cinemas in Lebanon are as symbolic as the Egg, the futuristic dome built in the 1960s. Shelled heavily during the war, it became a haunting ruin along Beirut’s Green Line. But in 2019, protesters reclaimed it, turning the bullet-pocked shell into a playground for revolution. They screened films, hosted raves, and gave talks inside its graffiti-covered walls.
A Legacy Bigger Than the Screen
From hiding civilians during air raids to staging political debates, from offering romance under the stars to becoming protest grounds, Lebanon’s cinemas have lived many lives. They are at once cultural landmarks, shelters, and stages for the drama of real life. Beirut’s cinemas became something else entirely with time: places where history itself was projected, frame by frame.
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