Cineplex isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders right now.
Theatre closures, poor financial results, a fractious relationship with local film makers, plus the possibility of fewer movies coming its way are all making for a murky future for Canada’s pre-dominant theatre chain.
But, to borrow from The Lion King, it’s the circle of life. At least it is according to Eric Veillette, arts journalist, theatre historian and former head programmer of the independent Revue Cinema in Toronto.
Movie fans don’t need to worry much, he says, because theatres aren’t necessarily going anywhere. The days of BIG theatres, however, may be numbered – the next few years are likely to bring a market correction, and with it, consolidation and shrinking of the large chains in Canada and elsewhere.
But just as cavemen (and cave ladies!) gathered in front of the fire to watch shadow-puppet stories, peoples’ need to experience stories communally is as strong as ever, especially at a time when so many of them are being fed to screens by faceless algorithms.
Veillette joins the Do Not Pass Go podcast to reveal the often shady and competitively-fraught history of movie-going in Canada, and to discuss why its future is going to be smaller and more indie.
Check out his Substack, The Downtown Theatre, and keep an eye out for his book, “In the Dark: A Select History of Movie-Going in Toronto,” coming from ECW Press in 2027.
And check out our feature episode the Revue Cinema here.
