The Avenue Cinema Belfast
SETTING
Indoors
WHERE
Belfast
What it’s like
A cinema with a proper licensed café and bar plus sensory friendly and subtitled screenings each week.
This is a cinema that thinks about who's watching. Alongside the usual screenings there's a sensory friendly showing with the lights left on low and the sound turned down, subtitles running throughout, built for anyone who finds a dark, loud auditorium hard going. There's also a subtitled film every week, though the title changes so you'll want to catch the new schedule when it lands each Wednesday for the Friday ahead.
Food's a step up from the usual tub of popcorn. The café and bar does pizzas, gourmet burgers and seasonal small plates alongside the classic cinema snacks, and it's fully licensed, so you can have a proper drink with your film if you're there without the kids. Better still, it all gets brought to your seat during the screening, which means no queuing at the counter and missing the trailers.
Access has clearly had real thought put in. The doors are automated and held open, wheelchair spaces in the screens are easy to book online with a click or you can sort it at the in-cinema kiosks, and audio description is available for select titles if you bring your own smartphone and headphones (skip the noise-cancelling ones, since the AD track doesn't carry the film's soundtrack).
It's an indoor venue, so screenings run whatever's happening outside, and with the café and bar built into the visit you could easily make an afternoon of it rather than just ducking in for the film and out again.
Facilities
Need to know
- Food
- Fully licensed café and bar serving freshly made pizzas, gourmet burgers, seasonal small plates, classic cinema snacks, Established Coffee
- Wheelchairs
- Fully accessible, automated/hold-open doors, in-screen wheelchair spaces easily booked online or at kiosks
- Subtitled film schedules only get confirmed each Wednesday for the coming Friday, so check close to the date rather than weeks ahead.
- Bring your own headphones for audio described titles, ideally not noise-cancelling ones.
- The bar is fully licensed, so it's not just a soft drinks and popcorn setup.
- Food gets delivered to your seat, so there's no need to queue before the trailers start.
Plan your visit
What is a sensory friendly screening?
The lights stay on low, the sound's turned down and subtitles play throughout. It's designed for guests with autism or sensory disorders.
Do you show subtitled films?
There's a subtitled movie every week, but the title changes and schedules are only confirmed each Wednesday for the Friday showings.
Can I get food during the film?
The café and bar does pizzas, burgers and small plates as well as classic snacks, and it's brought straight to your seat during the screening.
Is the cinema wheelchair accessible?
Yes, it's fully accessible with automated doors that hold open. Wheelchair spaces in the screens can be booked online or at the in-cinema kiosks.
How does audio description work?
Select titles are marked with an AD icon and you'll need your own smartphone and headphones to use it. Non-noise cancelling headphones work best since the AD track doesn't include the film's own soundtrack.
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