Cinema in and near Chicago, IL

Though Hollywood is more than 2,000 miles from Chicago, movies are as essential to the Second City’s story as they are to Tinseltown’s. Some of cinema’s most iconic moments have been captured on Chicago streets, from the Union Station shootout in The Untouchables to the chase scene down Lower Wacker Drive in The Dark Knight. It’s part of what lends movie theaters in Chicago their magic, chiefly the Gene Siskel Film Center downtown. Plenty of Chicago events are held there, as it’s affiliated with (and attached to) the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. On the North Side, the historic Music Box Theatre is another popular destination thanks to midnight movies, Q&As with actors and directors, and celebrations of Chicago film.