At the cinema or in the cinema?

People often ask if we should say 'I'll meet you at the cinema' or 'I'll meet you in the cinema'. The answer is that both are correct. We can think about the cinema as a point (in this case we use 'at') or we can think about the cinema as a building (in this case we use 'in').

However, in normal speech, we generally use 'at', unless we want to make certain that we're going to meet the person really inside the cinema building and not in the street outside.
• I'll meet you at the cinema.
• I saw him at the cinema.
• We had our first kiss at the cinema.

For all of these examples above, it could be by the door of the cinema but still in the street. It could also be inside the cinema, where you have to pay, or right inside where the seats and the screen are.
• I'll meet you in the cinema.
• I saw him in the cinema.
• We had our first kiss in the cinema.

For all of these examples above, it could be inside where you pay, or right inside where the seats and the screen are, but it's not in the street. This is the same with other buildings, like the bank, or the supermarket, or the library, or the theatre, or the restaurant.

Let's review!

Put in 'at' if the situation is not special, or put in 'in' if the person really wants to emphasise inside the building.

1. I'm going to meet Lucy ________ the theatre.
2. It's raining, so let's meet _________ the library, by the sofas.
3. We saw that film __________ the cinema, so we don't want to watch it tonight.
4. I bumped into James ___________ the restaurant.
5. She saw him __________ the café.
6. The street is really busy - I'll see you _________ the theatre, by the box office counter.
7. We were sitting ________ the restaurant. It was really hot inside. 8. He met her _________ the library.
9. I really enjoyed out evening _________ the new cinema.
10. Did you see her __________ the supermarket?