Five Nordic movie theatres on Time Out’s list of the world’s greatest cinemas

“It’s a tonic for the troops,” says Kim Foss, Managing Director of Grand Teatret in Copenhagen, when commenting on how being on this year’s Time Out list of the greatest cinemas in the world raises the spirits and spreads good vibes. Recognition and visibility are important in a time when ticket sales are still not back to the level before COVID, and the competition for audience attention is fierce.

Vince Scheynius from Bio Skandia in Stockholm also appreciates the motivational factor, and stresses how the Time Out list highlights the importance of having beautiful spaces for meeting around joint film experiences. It’s valuable for Bio Skandia (designed in 1923 and saved from closure in 2024) to get this kind of acclaim at a time when many Swedish cinemas are struggling. The ambition of Scheynius and his programming team is to make Bio Skandia the national stage for film art in Sweden – like Dramaten is for national theatre – and being on prestigious lists and getting international acclaim helps raise awareness, and hopefully attracts new cinemagoers.

Curated “cultural hubs” for collective experiences

Speaking for Cinema Orion in Finland, cinema manager Minna Nurmi agrees that beautiful cinema architecture, comfortable seats and great customer service play an important part in creating a cosy atmosphere where people can experience films together in a place with no distractions. Cinemas are about more than “just” the films. Orion in Helsinki is a beautiful art deco cinema, which opened its doors in 1927.

Programme Director Ása Baldursdóttir at the Bíó Paradís in Iceland finds that the cinema space is becoming still more important as a cultural space, and is glad to see Bíó Paradís on the list after building and sustaining it as the only arthouse cinema in Iceland.

“The magic of cinema lies in the shared experience. In a world where most things happen while you’re alone, on a screen in your hand, cinema remains one of the rare cultural spaces where people still come together in the same room to feel something collectively,” says Baldursdóttir, and highlights how arthouse cinemas increasingly function as “cultural hubs” rather than just screening venues, by offering a range of different events and activities to gather around.

Programming and curation is key

While the building or space itself is important and central in the Time Out list descriptions, what happens in these specific spaces is naturally key to creating a particular atmosphere. When asked about recent screenings or events that they are particularly proud of, a wide range of quite different initiatives are mentioned across the Nordic cinemas.

Bio Skandia has a new Secret Cinema initiative, with people buying tickets at only 75 SEK – but don’t know what film they will be watching until it starts. So far, there has been ten sold out secret cinema screenings (with 532 people each time), which Vince Scheynius points to as otherwise “unheard of these days”.

In Iceland, there are Black Sundays with cult films, and Orion in Finland has recently had a horoscope inspired film series, and is in the process of launching a local feminist film club.

Special events and screenings like these are highlighted as crucial in combination with showing the best art house films from the international festival circuit, and strong Nordic productions.

Moreover, prioritising certain audiences can be of great importance. In Iceland, Bíó Paradís is the venue for the Reykjavik International Children’s Film Festival and has numerous initiatives throughout the year focusing on film education. According to Baldursdóttir, they would like to do even more for the youngest audiences but find it difficult since there is no local funding for children’s films being dubbed into Icelandic.

Nordic networks and cross-border inspiration

Several cinemas point to shared challenges, many of them linked to lack of funding and limited human resources. While some of them already have strong Nordic collaborations and partnerships, others regard this as a way to become stronger moving forward.

Speaking from Iceland, Baldursdóttir stresses the benefits of being part of a Nordic arthouse cinema community with collaborations around festivals and distribution.

“These collaborations are very important, because they allow us to share films, knowledge, and programming ideas. Being part of a Nordic network helps smaller cinemas like ours bring important films to local audiences, and strengthen the region’s film culture. As an example, our Danish sister cinema Øst for Paradis is a great friend with whom we share thoughts and ideas.”

Kim Foss from Grand Teatret highlights the value of building relationships with Nordic filmmakers over time. An example of this is Ruben Östlund, who is cited on the Time Out list for saying that he can’t decide whether Grand Teatret or Abaton Kino in Hamburg is his favourite cinema: “It's because of the people who run them and the vibe they have managed to create. I feel that I like people when I'm in these two cinemas.”

And while the Nordic cinemas enjoy the Time Out attention and praise, new lists are on their way. Most recently, Financial Times also put Bíó Paradís on their list of the 24 “most breathtaking cinemas in the world” , as a “welcoming cinema with tremendous programming”, concluding that: “As soon as you arrive, you feel that you’re in the right place.”

The Time Out list of the Greatest Cinemas in the World praises these Nordic cinemas: Grand Teatret in Copenhagen, Bio Skandia in Stockholm, Bíó Paradís in Reykjavík, Colosseum Kino in Oslo and Cinema Orion in Helsinki.