 In the countries where those terms are used, the word "theatre" is usually reserved for live performance venues.Colloquial expressions, mostly applied to motion pictures and motion picture theaters collectively, include "the silver screen" (formerly sometimes "sheet") and "the big screen" (contrasted with the smaller screen of a television set).Specific to North American term is "the movies", while specific terms in the UK are "the pictures", "the flicks" and for the facility itself "the flea pit" (or "fleapit").