Located at No. 216 Nanjing West Road, Daguang Cinema is one of the few old cinemas in Shanghai that has survived to this day, originally a dance hall, rebuilt into a cinema in 1928, and Zhou Shoujuan, who was the editor-in-chief of the supplement "Freedom Talk" of "Declaration", named it "Daguang". After going through ups and downs in the middle, it changed its name many times, and finally in 1953, it was taken over by the Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Culture and renamed Daguang Cinema, which is now managed by the Shanghai Film Distribution Company.
With the rapid development of science and technology, after entering the 21st century, Daguang was gradually forgotten by people due to its old environment and backward equipment, until it was reinstalled in March 2009, with an investment of 120 million yuan, which lasted more than a year of rebuilding and renovation, restoring Daguang to the old appearance, using old-fashioned European and American architectural styles, the milky yellow façade is shaped like a sail marching in the waves, and the yellowed light box, "GRAND THEATRE" signboard font, and yellow translucent landscape windows have reappeared in people's field of vision. The cinema hall is designed with a smooth arc curve, and the roof presents a lotus-shaped three-layer gradual stack, decorated with various abstract patterns made of marble, which is extremely magnificent. Copper handrails and gold leaf patches make the cinema even more splendid. The Shanghai Municipal Government has listed it as an excellent modern building, which also highlights the unique status of Daguang Cinema in the architectural world.
It is worth mentioning that a "cinema cultural corridor" was also designed during the reconstruction, which reviews the history of the cinema in the past hundred years through many precious old photos and old objects, and also represents the history of the development of Shanghai films in the past 100 years.
After the renovation, the Daguang Cinema has formed a screening pattern of "1 big plus 5 small". The largest screening hall retains its two-story setting, with more than 800 seats on the first floor and more than 500 seats on the second floor, providing a total of about 1,300 seats. In addition, Daguang Cinema has opened 5 other small halls, including a VIP hall, providing more choices for the audience.
Daguang Cinema was the first widescreen cinema and the first stereo cinema in China. Now, after the transformation, Daguang has introduced the latest technology of the theater at that time - Dolby 3D stereoscopic digital projector, forming a projection pattern of film and digital coexistence, and was selected as the first batch of four-star theaters in Shanghai in early 2018. However, the projection effect is average, especially in the largest screening hall, due to the large number of seats, the actual viewing effect is not good, and the experience on both sides or at a long distance is not good.
Located in front of the entrance to the screening hall on the first and second floors, the lounge is very spacious and comfortable with leather sofas. There are very few people who come to watch the movie on weekdays, and the overall attitude of the service staff is average, and there is a sense of casualness among the employees of old state-owned enterprises. The cleaning in the theater is not meticulous, and the garbage on the seats is omitted. Popcorn and soda are sold on the first and second floors, but there are fewer options. The ticket machine is set up on the second floor, which is somewhat inconvenient for consumers entering Hall 1 on the first floor.
