The application, submitted by Davenport Developments, was approved on Tuesday, with council officers concluding that the proposal was “sympathetic to its surroundings”.
The developers note that the location provides “pedestrian and vehicle connections to key destinations, such as Highcross Shopping Centre, the city’s Cultural Quarter, and the River Soar corridor”.
Davenport also said the scheme “will create local employment opportunities and breathe new life into a previously underused and vulnerable site”.
The council said the cinema should not operate after 01:30 hours during the week, 2:00 on Saturdays and 23:00 on Sundays, and that no amplified music should be played outside the building.
Considering the proposals, the council noted the previous change of use of the former Great Central Railway Station to a bowling alley and amusement venue, operating as Lane 7, which is adjacent to this site.
The authority said: “The proposal is for the construction of a building on the same footprint and of the same scale.”
The authority also notes that the plan supports the Local Plan to create cultural, arts and leisure development on appropriate sites and encouraging work spaces.