Pongrácz Erzsébet: The Cinemas of Budapest - Our Budapest (Budapest, 1998)

When CJFA’s contract expired in 1935, the American Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer company purchased the picture house changing its name to Scala-Metro. However, this involved no change in the programming policies or the popularity of the cinema.

The establishment, renamed Szikra (Spark) after the war, was wholly reconstructed in the 1970s, when two audito- ria were created, one with a capacity of 479, the other seating 42; the equipment of the larger enabling it to house stage events, too. The closed-circuit TV system installed in the course of reconstruction was a peculiarity of Budapest’s cinemas at the time.

The Szikra has also kept abreast with changing times in the 1990s. Bearing the name Metro cinema, it holds projections all day long, while the smaller auditorium is often the venue of pre-release screenings. A small travel agency on the premises caters for those who might like to visit the original locations of the films they have seen.

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