A demo movie booking system for Bangalore cinemas
Movie Booking Assistant
A demo movie booking system for Bangalore cinemas, built to showcase two ways of integrating AI with a Python backend:
- Gemini chat — a terminal chatbot powered by Google Gemini with function calling
- MCP server — exposes the same APIs as tools for MCP-compatible AI clients (e.g. Claude)
Project Structure
demo1/
├── api_v1.py # Movies & Showtimes API
├── api_v2.py # Bookings API
├── api_v3.py # Theatres & Seats API
├── chat.py # Gemini AI terminal chatbot
└── mcp_server.py # MCP server (for Claude / other MCP clients)
API Files
| File | Responsibility | Key Functions |
|---|---|---|
api_v1.py |
Movies & showtimes | search_movies, get_movie_details, get_showtimes |
api_v2.py |
Bookings | book_tickets, cancel_booking, get_booking_details, list_user_bookings |
api_v3.py |
Theatres & seats | list_theatres, get_theatre_details, check_seat_availability |
All data is hardcoded in-memory — no database required.
How It Works
Gemini Chat (`chat.py`)
You type a message
→ Sent to Gemini API
→ Gemini picks a tool to call (based on function docstrings)
→ Your code runs the function locally
→ Result sent back to Gemini
→ Gemini replies in plain English
Gemini never runs your code directly. It reads the function name, parameters, and docstring to decide what to call — your code executes it and reports back.
MCP Server (`mcp_server.py`)
FastMCP automatically converts each FastAPI app into MCP tools, namespaced as movies_*, bookings_*, and theatres_*. An MCP-compatible client (like Claude Code) connects to the server and calls tools the same way Gemini does — but over the MCP protocol instead.
Setup
1. Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
2. Set your Gemini API key
Create a .env file in the project root:
GEMINI_API_KEY=your_key_here
Get a key at aistudio.google.com.
Usage
Run the Gemini chatbot
python chat.py
Example interaction:
You: What sci-fi movies are showing today?
[calling tool: search_movies with {'genre': 'Sci-Fi'}]
Gemini: There are two sci-fi movies showing today — Inception and The Matrix...
You: Book 2 tickets for Inception at PVR Orion Mall
[calling tool: get_showtimes with {'movie_id': 'MOVIE-003'}]
[calling tool: book_tickets with {'showtime_id': 'SHOW-001', 'seats': 2, 'user_name': 'Joshua'}]
Gemini: Done! I've booked 2 tickets for Inception...
Type quit or exit to stop.
Run the MCP server
python mcp_server.py
Then connect any MCP-compatible client to it. For Claude Code, add it to your MCP settings pointing to this script.
Data Overview
- 10 movies — including Inception, The Matrix, Oppenheimer, and more
- 10 theatres — across Bangalore (PVR, INOX, Cinepolis)
- 15 showtimes — across 2 days, with 2D and IMAX options
- 3 pre-existing bookings — for user "Joshua"
Tools (10)
search_moviesSearch for movies by genre or other criteriaget_movie_detailsRetrieve detailed information about a specific movieget_showtimesGet showtimes for a specific moviebook_ticketsBook tickets for a specific showtimecancel_bookingCancel an existing ticket bookingget_booking_detailsRetrieve details of a specific bookinglist_user_bookingsList all bookings for a specific userlist_theatresList available theatres in Bangaloreget_theatre_detailsGet details for a specific theatrecheck_seat_availabilityCheck seat availability for a showtimeEnvironment Variables
GEMINI_API_KEYrequiredAPI key for Google Gemini servicesConfiguration
{"mcpServers": {"movie-booking": {"command": "python", "args": ["/path/to/mcp_server.py"]}}}