The first commercial film performance in Berlin was in 1895. In the following decades, names such as the brothers Emil and Max Skladanowsky, the UFA film company and stars such as Ernst Lubitsch, Marlene Dietrich and Wim Wenders dominated film history in the city.

The number of film and television productions has steadily increased over recent years. Together with the Babelsberg film studios, the Berlin-Brandenburg region is the second largest film location in Germany. In addition to the existing locations, the largest production site in the city is being built in Adlershof Media City. The company Filmboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH subsidised the film sector in the Berlin-Brandenburg region with about 35 million DM in 1999.

In the SONY-Center on Potsdamer Platz, a Film-Museum sponsored by the German cinema foundation “Stiftung Deutsche Kinemathek” is planned. The International Film Festival has moved from the Zoopalast cinema to a new building on Potsdamer Platz.

The number of cinemas has grown, especially in recent years, and has now reached 200 (1999), including several Multiplex cinemas.