The movies first came to Toronto in the late summer of 1896, as the Lumi\u00e8re Cin\u00e9matographe flickered away under a tent at the Industrial Exhibition (now the CNE). In the 130 years since, scores of cinemas have lined Toronto\u2019s streets, some closing down, others resurrected thanks to the repertory and art-house scenes of the 1960s and \u201970s.<\/p>\n
Unlike multiplexes, these screens weren\u2019t chasing opening-weekend grosses. They were showing Ingmar Bergman and Bruce Lee, experimental films and cult classics, restored prints and midnight horror \u2014 all of which gave the city a unique movie culture.<\/p>\n
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The Lumi\u00e8re Cin\u00e9matographe\u00a0attracts audiences at the CNE in 1899.<\/p>\n
CNE Archives<\/p>\n
Some of these theatres have survived every supposed death knell: corporate consolidation, multiplex creep, cable television, home video, streaming, the COVID pandemic. And despite Cineplex recently shuttering its Beaches location<\/a> and posting a fourth-quarter profit of $369,000<\/a>, down from $3.3 million a year earlier, Toronto\u2019s independent and repertory houses are not in retreat, they\u2019re thriving.<\/p>\n Many of the indie single-screen theatres still in operation \u2014 Revue<\/a>, Paradise, Hot Docs Ted Rogers (formerly the Bloor), Fox and Kingsway \u2014 were once part of the Festival Cinemas chain, offering members access to multiple venues.<\/p>\n When I moved to Toronto in summer 2000, I prioritized renting an apartment near a movie theatre. I settled on Broadview Avenue, around the corner from the Danforth Music Hall, which then operated as a second-run cinema under the Festival banner. The day I signed the lease, I walked over to the Music Hall, bought a membership, and took in an Indiana Jones adventure in this enormous movie palace, built in 1919, which had seen better days. Later, I briefly ran the Revue, Toronto\u2019s oldest operating cinema.<\/p>\n Talking about movie theatres really lights people up. Mention a long-gone neighbourhood cinema and suddenly someone\u2019s telling you about the sticky floors and velvet curtains of their childhood, the first matinee they attended alone. Sometimes you\u2019ll hear a short elegy. And if the venue is still standing, brace yourself for the diehards, fiercely loyal to their screen of choice. It\u2019s part nostalgia, part civic pride, part deeply personal memory.<\/p>\n Repertory cinemas go boom<\/p>\n Frequent filmgoer Gregory Dalgetty sees lines around the block at various venues on a weekly basis. \u201cThere\u2019s a huge renaissance happening right now,\u201d he told the Star. \u201cPeople are clearly starved for this kind of experience. Repertory cinemas feel like they\u2019re in a boom, and I think it\u2019s partly a reaction to streaming \u2014 which a lot of people don\u2019t want.\u201d<\/p>\n For film critic, programmer and Star contributor Saffron Maeve<\/a>, a Mississauga native who relished childhood visits to the Revue, sitting among others\u00a0in a movie theatre \u201cactivates parts of the film you might have otherwise not reacted to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI enjoy hearing other people\u2019s reactions,\u201d she said. \u201cThere\u2019s something phenomenal about sitting beside someone, breathing beside them, while you\u2019re watching the same movie.\u201d<\/p>\n As a programmer herself \u2014 she curates the \u201cContours\u201d series at the Paradise (films about art) and \u201cApparatus Theory\u201d at the Revue (films about filmmaking) \u2014 she\u2019s struck by how varied audiences are. For her, that range is proof that repertory cinema isn\u2019t niche \u2014 it\u2019s drawing people of all ages and sensibilities.<\/p>\n \u201cThe megaplex and the rep cinema are different cultural products,\u201d Sonya William, executive director of the Network of Independent Cinema Exhibitors, told the Star. \u201cThey are both important. \u201cThe megaplex can show the big new movie that is in the zeitgeist. Whereas the rep cinema is a place that values cinema as art and offers its audience a personalized touch.\u201d<\/p>\n Beyond inventive programming, these cinemas sometimes offer custom posters designed by local artists and specialty zines. Some series, like the Revue\u2019s \u201cBlack Belt Cinema\u201d and \u201cNeon Dreams,\u201d sell their own branded merch.<\/p>\n William also said that Letterboxd, the cinephile\u2019s favourite social media app, has also helped cinemas and programmers connect with their audience: \u201cWe have some members all over the country who check out who logged a film they have just shown, see their reviews, their wish lists, and try to show films that their audience are interested in seeing. It\u2019s a great motivator.\u201d<\/p>\n Sure, you may be able to stream a particular vintage or cult movie at home. But you can\u2019t stream a sold-out 35-mm restoration, a filmmaker Q&A or a drag-hosted screening\u00a0\u2014 many of which\u00a0can be had at the following cinemas (as well as TIFF Lightbox, Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema and Innis Town Hall).<\/p>\n The Fox Theatre, which opened in 1914, is one of the last remaining neighbourhood screens in the east end.<\/p>\n R.J. Johnston\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n Fox Theatre<\/p>\n Origin story: The Fox opened in 1914 as The Theatre Without a Name, was once affectionately known as \u201cThe Morgue,\u201d and more than a century later remains one of the city\u2019s last neighbourhood picture houses east of the Don Valley. Once you\u2019ve passed the street-facing box office, its doors open beneath a glowing stained-glass panel featuring one of the theatre\u2019s former names, \u201cPrince Edward,\u201d casting warm light over red carpets and framed posters. Past the spacious lobby, where the snack bar gleams under soft bulbs, a long, patterned corridor guides moviegoers toward the auditorium.<\/p>\n Inside the Fox, a stained-glass panel features one of the theatre\u2019s former names: Prince Edward.<\/p>\n R.J. Johnston\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n Andy Willick and Daniel Demois bought the theatre in 2007. \u201cIt\u2019s not a very glamorous business,\u201d Willick said. \u201cThere\u2019s this perception that it\u2019s all fun and games and you get to watch movies all the time, but it\u2019s kind of relentless. You\u2019re constantly programming for the future and there\u2019s a lot more marketing work required these days.\u201d<\/p>\n Still, Willick is optimistic about the road ahead for independent cinemas. \u201cCOVID was such a terrifying time, and I felt like it was over for us. But we\u2019ve rebuilt the business and the audience supported us \u2014 there was a genuine outpouring of love for the theatre, and that feels really good.\u201d<\/p>\n Shirley Hughes, a resident of the Beach, considers the Fox her go-to and plans her monthly movie-going around the cinema\u2019s calendar.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an incredibly important space,\u201d she told the Star. \u201cI\u2019m starting to see regulars in the line all the time. It feels a little family-like. They\u2019re also doing some new and interesting things with their programming.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s new: Over the past year, The Fox has expanded its slate of new independent and international films. Willick grew up seeing foreign-language titles at the now-closed Cumberland in Yorkville and believes those films are underserved in Toronto. \u201cIt\u2019s been such a strong year overall for international films,\u201d he said, \u201cand they\u2019re breaking into the mainstream in a bigger way.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming attractions: \u201cRomy and Michele\u2019s High School Reunion,\u201d with live BoylesqueTO show (March 6); \u201cJesus Christ Superstar\u201d singalong (April 5).<\/p>\n Carlton Cinemas is one of\u00a0Toronto’s repertory cinemas, playing cult classics, vintage Hollywood, avant-garde and international films.<\/p>\n Andres Valenzuela\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n Carlton Cinemas<\/p>\n Origin story: The Carlton opened in 1981 as part of Cineplex\u2019s expanding multiplex empire. At first, its screens focused on action films because of its proximity to Maple Leaf Gardens, but it quickly shifted to art-house and foreign films because of neighbouring Toronto Metropolitan University (then known as Ryerson) and the Village. The art-house strategy continues to this day under the Imagine Cinemas banner, offering many Canadian films their only theatrical venue.<\/p>\n Stefan Kern, operations manager for Imagine Cinemas, said the narrative that theatrical exhibition is on life support doesn\u2019t square with what he\u2019s seeing. Imagine Cinemas, which also operates the six-screen Market Square on Front Street, as well as theatres in Windsor and Timmins, is \u201con pace with pre-COVID numbers,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n When the Hollywood pipeline was disrupted by the pandemic and strikes, the Carlton leaned harder into repertory programming and international and indie releases. At first, it was experimentation \u2014 \u201cthrowing everything at the wall and seeing what stuck.\u201d Now, he said, those screenings \u2014 and the discounted \u201cRewind and Replay\u201d throwback series of nostalgic \u201980s and \u201990s fare \u2014 are doing very well.<\/p>\n The Carlton Cinemas offer \u201cRewind and Replay\u201d throwback screenings at discounted prices.<\/p>\n Andres Valenzuela\/Toronto Star<\/p>\n The audience has shifted, too. With TMU next door, Kern said, the repertory crowd skews heavily Gen Z \u2014 and, notably, young women.<\/p>\n The audience speaks: When Alison Lang first moved to Toronto, she gravitated toward the Carlton Cinemas.<\/p>\n \u201cI grew up with multiplexes around me \u2014 I was in the suburbs \u2014 and I just thought the cinema experience was like that: cookie-cutter,\u201d she said. \u201cThe Carlton was amazing because it was so affordable.\u201d The nine screens, which show a mix of Hollywood fare and independent and older titles, offer five-dollar admission on Tuesdays.<\/p>\n An author and editor of the zine Movies Men Ruined for Me, Lang still visits the Carlton monthly. What keeps her coming back, she said, is the atmosphere. \u201cIt has a distinct esthetic. The velvet rope. Everything feels so warmly antiquated. The staff are always amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n Coming attractions:\u00a0\u201cEnter the Dragon\u201d (March 6-12); \u201cThere Will Be Blood\u201d (March 20-26).<\/p>\n Even more screens<\/p>\n Innis Town Hall, 2 Sussex Ave.<\/p>\n In the 1960s, when the Ontario Censor Board prevented screenings of Andy Warhol\u2019s films, it was on university and college campuses that those films were first shown. Today, Innis Town Hall, at the University of Toronto\u2019s Innis College, presents free films on Friday, courtesy of the cinema studies student union; the Pop-Up Cinematheque, which screens gems from the institution\u2019s film archive; and Ad Hoc, one of Toronto\u2019s sole venues for experimental film.<\/p>\n TIFF Lightbox, 350 King St. W.<\/p>\n In its early years, TIFF held screenings at the Bloor and the Revue, expanding to other venues as the festival grew in international stature. Today, the plush five-screen TIFF Lightbox is the city\u2019s art-house powerhouse \u2014 a veritable multiplex for cinephiles. With year-round retrospectives, international showcases and restorations, it combines the scale of a corporate complex with the sensibility of a cinematheque. Anyone under 25 can sign up for a free membership, unlocking free and discounted tickets.<\/p>\n Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, 506 Bloor St. W.<\/p>\n Formerly the Bloor Cinema, this 650-seat house remains the largest single-screen independent theatre in the city. Though it\u2019s now synonymous with documentary premieres and the annual Hot Docs Festival, the theatre has been making a deliberate move back toward its repertory DNA. The \u201cBack to the Bloor\u201d series reconnects with the revival-house era that defined the space for decades, while \u201cMidtown Matinees\u201d tips its hat to the building\u2019s mid-century life as the Midtown Theatre, a reminder that this room has worn many identities over the years.<\/p>\n Paradise Theatre<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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