Originally known as the Salão High-Life (High Life Cinema), it was moved from Boavista by its owners to its current location, and rebuilt by architect Artur Andrade[1] in the Art-Deco style, re-inaugurated on 3 June 1947.

After many years of success, the building and the cinema began losing customers (due to the popularity of video rental services in the 1980s and the growth of multiplex theatres in malls during the 1990s), and was closed in 2003.

The first film screenings occurred in the Salão High-Life a mere container made of wood and zinc, operated by the company Neves & Pascaud, in the Feira de São Miguel (today Boavista) in 1906.

[2] The Novo Salão High-Life building was demolished in 1944, and on the 30 September of that year, the property-owners ordered the construction of the Cinema Batalha, assigning these duties to the civil engineer Bernardino de Barros Machado.

[1] The rehabilitation consisted of a profound renovation of the main auditorium (that included new seating), air conditioning, ventilation systems and electrical installations, that cost about one million Euros.

[1] The cinema occupies a corner parcel that fronts the Praça da Batalha, alongside the Rua de Santo Ildefonso, while its form imposes on the square architecturally.

[2] The irregular square, almost an "L"-shape is defined in the north by the Church of Santo Ildefonso and contains various buildings of historical and architectural significance, including: the São João Theatre, the former Cine Águia de Douro, the Café Chave d´Ouro, the Hotel Império, the Grande Hotel da Batalha and the Palácio da Batalha, in addition the statute to D. Pedro V.[2] A four-story, trapezoidal structure in an Art Deco-inspired design, includes basement, recessed first-floor and remaining floors overhanging the base.

[2] From spiral staircase that emerges onto the protruding rooftop access, is a triangular terrace overlooking the square, with narrow balcony that overhangs Rua de São Ildefonso.