Film exhibition encompasses the where and when we watch movies, as well as the technological format through which we see the movie. Like production, distribution, and promotion, exhibition contexts and practices can support or alter the intended aims and meanings of a movie.

In the early twentieth century, movies were short (usually under twenty minutes in length) and viewed in vaudeville houses, storefront nickelodeons, or in carnival environments. The 1920s saw the introduction of large movie palaces, such as Radio City Music Hall, and in the 1950s, suburban sprawl—and the invention of television—led to the rise of drive-in theaters and 3-D and wide-screen processes, which were developed to entice audiences and differentiate the movie-going experience from the experience of watching television at home. By the late twentieth century, large multiplex theaters and home viewing on VCR and later DVD and Blu-ray players became the dominant means of watching movies. More recently, portable devices have become portals for watching movies, and home theater systems have also evolved, with better sound systems and streaming video through gaming consoles and Internet connections.

Where and how we watch movies greatly affects our experience. The social activity of watching a movie in a theater differs greatly from the much more independent activity of watching a movie on an iPad using headphones; a blockbuster action flick is more stimulating when viewed on a giant IMAX screen than on a standard television.

Movie culture has commonly emphasized film exhibition as leisure time, and movies themselves are usually thought of in terms of entertainment and play value. Film exhibition, however, can also be considered as productive time during which movies can be used to gain information, material advantage, or knowledge.