Where to Watch: A Guide to Manchester’s Cinemas

With lockdown easing we finally have the chance to tear ourselves away from Netflix and our TV’s and return to cinemas. However, with that comes a certain anxiety. Where to go? What to watch? Popcorn or pick ‘n’ mix? Big questions for a big occasion. 

Our job at The Mancunion is to ease that stress. Here we provide a comprehensive list of some of Manchester’s best cinemas. Whether you want the biggest blockbusters, golden oldies or the latest independent releases, there is something here for everyone.

HOME

Did someone say the cultural centre of Manchester? HOME is as vibrant as it is stylish. A modern hub of art, music, film and history, HOME is worth visiting even for a bite to eat. Two years ago, it hosted a fantastic exhibition of David Lynch’s artwork and has continued in that vein since reopening. Showing everything from new releases to classic re-runs, to the most recent independent short films. HOME’s student discount makes it an accessible and rewarding cinema to visit.

Vue Printworks

The ‘local’ spot for many film goers, Printworks’ staunch £4.99 ticket price attracts students on a budget from across Manchester. Comprised of 23 cinemas’, a labyrinthine central escalator system and the only IMAX screen in the city centre, the Vue is a must for any Mancunion reader. Combine that with the host of bars and restaurants surrounding it, and you have an ideal viewing experience. 

ODEON Great Northern

Another enormous multiplex cinema, the ODEON, located in Deansgate’s old Great Northern Warehouse, is now a redeveloped cinematic paradise. It shows the latest blockbusters but also has a more alternative history as the host of many of Manchester’s film festivals. The cinema will soon be preparing for the upcoming Grimmfest, the city’s October horror festival. You can buy tickets for that online NOW.

Chapeltown Picture House

Just north of the city centre lies a discreet red brick warehouse. Inside, a small screen shows only cult classics and older films. Founded in 2019 and marketing itself as ‘the home of cult films, video games and cool nerd stuff in Manchester’, the Chapeltown Picture House is an absolute goldmine for film loving students. Cheap tickets, craft beer and screenings that cannot be found anywhere else in the city make the journey worthwhile. 

Stockport Plaza

The most beautiful cinema in the Manchester area, The Plaza’s original Art Deco interior has been restored to its former glory. Going there is like being transported back to the 1930s, whilst the host of live events and independent film screenings makes a visit an unusual necessity. If you love older films, this is the place to be!

Ducie Street Warehouse

Another mixed medium hub, Ducie Street Warehouse hosts live music and talks, provides tasty food and drinks and importantly a luxuriously cosy cinema. Located next to the Gay Village it is easily accessible and an ideal place to treat yourself (or someone else) one evening. Showing a range of older films, it is currently the only place in Manchester screening Apocalypse Now or, if you want something slightly lighter, Dirty Dancing.

Cineworld Didsbury

Combining old reruns and the latest films, Cineworld has it all. Budget tickets as well as a cheap membership subscription which gets you into any film free, means this monster of a cinema is not only local, but an ideal place for film loving students. Oh, and it has a Starbucks!