Managua’s five commercial centers each has a modern multiplex theater showing the same half-dozen films: mostly Hollywood fare, with some Spanish and Mexican films as well.

Cinemark (tel. 505/271-9037 or 505/2271-9000) is in the Plaza Metrocentro, Cinema Plaza Inter (tel. 505/2222-5090 or 505/2222-5122) is on the third floor of the Plaza Inter mall (remember to take a cab at night; the neighborhoods west of the theater are no longer walkable at night), and the Galería Santo Domingo shopping complex (tel. 505/2276-5065) is located on the Carretera Masaya just southeast of the Rotunda Jean Paul Genie.

Simply drop in, or check the Revista Cinematógrafica (a weekly bulletin distributed at most gas stations and some hotels and restaurants), or Patadeperro a free monthly arts magazine at the Casa de Café. Shows change every Thursday and cost about $3–5. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are often cut-price.

Bring a jacket: Managua’s theaters are glacially air-conditioned. In addition, Cinemark and Galería complexes host occasional film festivals with the support of the local embassies’ cultural attachés.

The Alianza Francesa (tel. 505/2267-8283 or 505/2267-8285) presents a variety of European DVDs on Tuesday nights. Also try the Cinemateca (tel. 505/2222-3845), located next to the El Centro Cultural de Managua, where cinema connoisseurs enjoy film classics.

Miercoles de Cine shows an artsy foreign flick each Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Sala de Teatro Justo Rufino Garay (from Montoya, 3 blocks west, 20 meters north, tel. 505/2266-3714, www.rufinos.org, $2).