The building that now houses Cine Cosmos was originally designed by Belgian architect Albert Bourdon for the Cine-Teatro Cataluña.

Between 1947 and 1951, Soviet films had been banned in Argentina by decree of Raúl Apold, press chief of President Juan Domingo Perón.

The censorship ended in 1951 due to lobbying efforts by Vainikoff and presidential secretary Martín Carlos Martínez, who convinced Perón to overturn the ban.

[2] The cinema continued to feature Eastern European films, such as The Cranes Are Flying, Closely Watched Trains, Loves of a Blonde, Lemonade Joe, and The Cold Summer of 1953.

The cinema's preference for films from Eastern Europe during the Cold War led to the Argentine government to associate it with the Communist Party, an allegation Vainikoff denied throughout his life.