Indie cinemas and super theatres in Toronto
When you've overscheduled yourself, your world has gone crazy and you just need some time to breathe and take stock, there's nothing better than sitting in a darkened theatre and kicking back to watch a flick. Thankfully, the city of TIFF, Hot Docs, Toronto After Dark, and countless other film festivals, has some of the greatest movie theatres in the country to help you waste away in an afternoon matinée.
Theatre D Digital Corpora
608 College St, Toronto, ON M6G 1B4Built in 1939 and called The Pylon back then, The Royal is often the first place buzz-worthy films are shown in Toronto. It was here that cult classics like The Room and Manborg made their Toronto debuts and they've since brought audiences back in droves to great acclaim. They also punctuate their screenings with create live events, including Q&As with filmmakers and interactive costume party screenings. Their latest experiment is The Eatable Film Festival, which combines films on food with real food and drinks during the screening. Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Bloor Hot Docs Cinema
506 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M5S 1Y3The Bloor was great before, but after becoming the official home of The Hot Docs Documentary Festival, it's even better. Now you don't have to wait for the April film festival to get your documentary fix and watch new and classic documentaries year-round. In addition, filmmakers are often invited to open their films live in front of the audience and they'll usually stick around to chat about it afterward. Few cities have a dedicated documentary theatre, so we're thankful Toronto is among the blessed few. Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
TIFF Lightbox
350 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3X5Part theatre, part shrine to film history, the official home of the Toronto Film Festival offers a high-class multi-level theatre going experience. Arguably the most comfortable seats in the city, you come here for obscure first run films that only get a limited release or to watch popular classics on the big screen. In addition, the Bell Lightbox regularly hosts exhibitions on the careers of popular filmmakers like David Cronenberg and Stanley Kubrick featuring screen props from their films. Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Cineforum
463 Bathurst St, Toronto, ON M5T 2S9Wander the streets of Toronto for long enough and you'll inevitably see bills posted advertising strange screenings of uncensored Warner Bros. Cartoons, films by Salvador Dali and the silent film Kid Dracula backed by Radiohead. The screenings are the brainchild of Reg Hart who shows them in his living room that has been converted into a theatre (the seats are office chairs). A modern salon, Hart lectures on each screening before and after the film. But you better be quiet while “class is in session,” or he'll throw you out. Wheelchair Accessible: No
Cinecycle
129 Spadina Ave, Toronto, ON M5V 2L3Part of the experience of this place is just the journey to get there. Part bike shop, part cinema and live event space, it's located in a coach house down a random laneway behind 129 Spadina Avenue. Many of the films shown are from owner Martin Heath's personal collection after he rescued the reels from the scrap heap. They include the South African spaghetti western, Three Bullets from a Long Gun and the Canadian giant rat horror film, Deadly Eyes. Films are shown on 16 mm, but 35mm, 16mm, 9.5mm, 8mm and super 8 are also available. Wheelchair Accessible: No
Rainbow Cinema Movie Information
80 Front E Market Square, Toronto, ON L4J 4P8For a no frills movie going experience without all the pomp and circumstance stadium seating, over-priced snacks and twenty dollar tickets, this is the place to go. Though some might say it has lost something by switching to digital projection, the adult price of $10.00 for a first-run movie just can't be beat. Well, until Tuesday hits and it goes down to $5.00 for all ages. The venue is wheelchair accessible and there are screenings for the hearing impaired.
Fox Theatre
2236 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4E 1G2The Fox is Canada's longest running theatre as a Toronto mainstay since 1914. The place drips history, with the stained-glass window featuring its 1930s name, The Prince Edward, still sitting over the lobby entrance. It has the distinction of the best tasting popcorn in the city and its single screen sports current, second run, classics and foreign films for an $11.00 ticket price. Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Scotiabank Theatre
259 Richmond St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3M6Sure, it's the most corporate and mainstream movie theatre in the city, but there's also no better, nor more iconic, place to see a summer blockbuster. Scotiabank Theatre makes event movies into a spectacle and a packed house often feels like a communal experience of a moment in time, rather than just a simple movie screening. Who among us hasn't had an enthusiastic post-film discussion in the theatre's huge upstairs lobby? The theatre has become so ubiquitous to current film culture that seeing its Rubik’s cube monument in the distance as you arrive is always comforting. Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
The Revue Cinema
400 Roncesvalles Ave, Toronto, ON M6R 2M9Opened in 1912, The Revue has the distinction of being Toronto's oldest standing movie theatre and is so beloved by moviegoers that it was saved by a group of concerned citizens after a brief closure in 2006. It is now designated a heritage site and is run as a not-for-profit. Beyond history, why is The Revue so worth saving? Not just because it shows new and second-run movies at rock-bottom prices, but because its Silent Revue series shows silent films the way they were originally presented – with live piano accompaniment. Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
