Box office counter in a cinema — point of sale for tickets and concessions. German term for ticket booth, often a freestanding furnished structure in the lobby.
The kinopult is the central sales element in the cinema lobby—the place where visitors purchase their tickets and usually also order drinks and snacks. Architecturally, it is a massive counter table, dimensioned from hip to shoulder height, positioned so that the cashiers behind it have a complete overview of arriving guests. The construction must be robust—hundreds of transactions daily, cash handling, card readers, ticket printers—everything must function while operations are ongoing.
The kinopult becomes cinematically interesting primarily in documentary or staged shots that address the cinema experience itself. If you are shooting a scene set in a cinema box office, you must consider the lighting situation: Classically, the area behind the counter is darker, while the visitor areas are more brightly lit—this automatically creates a hierarchy and can help build tension. The backlight contrast between the waiting visitors and the uniform backlight of the counter area is a proven design element. Pay attention to the screens behind or next to the counter—they often cast a somewhat cold, bluish light that you can capture or consciously use.
Practically, kinopults also play a role in interior design—they decisively shape the atmosphere of the foyer. A modern, digitized counter with touchscreen systems has a completely different effect than a classic, mechanical ticket counter system with manually written daily lists. In the context of architectural documentaries or cinema construction documentaries, the kinopult is a design statement: it can radiate elegance, emphasize functionality, or—if designed haphazardly—also express chaos. The height and shape also influence how children make eye contact with the cashiers—a conscious or unconscious design factor that has a psychological effect.