Lighthouse Cinema was a single-screen movie theatre located in central Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Situated on Humayun Place near the New Market area in the Esplanade neighbourhood, it was for several decades one of the most prominent venues in the city for screening English-language films, particularly Hollywood productions, and formed part of Kolkata's well-known cluster of historic cinema halls in the Chowringhee–Esplanade district.
| Name | Lighthouse Cinema |
|---|---|
| Type | Single-screen cinema hall |
| Location | Humayun Place, Esplanade, Kolkata |
| City | Kolkata, West Bengal, India |
| Status | Closed |
Kolkata's Esplanade and New Market area developed during the colonial period as a hub of European-style entertainment, retail and dining. Lighthouse Cinema, along with neighbouring halls such as the Globe, Metro, Elite, Tiger and New Empire, served audiences in this district. The cinema was particularly associated with first-run screenings of English-language films and was patronised both by residents of central Kolkata and by visitors to the surrounding markets and offices.
For much of the twentieth century, Lighthouse was regarded as one of Kolkata's premier venues for Hollywood releases and is frequently mentioned in cultural histories and memoirs of the city alongside other landmark single-screen halls of the Esplanade area. The decline of Kolkata's old single-screen cinema circuit, driven by the rise of multiplex chains, changes in film distribution and shifts in urban entertainment habits, eventually led to the closure of Lighthouse, and the building has since been put to other commercial uses.