Independent & Repertory Cinemas

Every healthy city in Canada has at least one stubborn independent cinema — the kind of theatre that programs Anatomy of a Fall in week twelve, runs a 35mm print of a Werner Herzog documentary on a Tuesday, holds a midnight screening of The Holy Mountain during Pride. These aren't convenience cinemas. You go because you trust the programmer. Here's a partial map.

Toronto Independent Cinemas

The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema

506 Bloor Street West. The former Bloor Cinema, reimagined as the home of Hot Docs, Canada's largest documentary festival. Year-round programming of documentary, archival film, and selected independent fiction. Excellent projection and a thoughtful bar.

Paradise Theatre

1006 Bloor Street West. Restored 1937 movie palace, reopened in 2019. Mixed programming — first-run arthouse, classic film, live music. One of the most beautiful rooms in the city.

The Revue Cinema

400 Roncesvalles Avenue. Community-operated, 1911 building, single-screen. The Revue's rep programming is famous — Saturday-morning Studio Ghibli, Wednesday horror nights, a long-running documentary series.

The Royal Cinema

608 College Street, Little Italy. 1939 building, 412 seats. Programming leans towards cult, horror, and midnight screenings, though they do host premieres and special events. Runs on 35mm when they can.

Fox Theatre

2236 Queen Street East, The Beaches. Canada's oldest continuously-operating cinema (1914). Community-run, 258 seats, programs documentary, indie drama, foreign-language, and the occasional small-release blockbuster.

TIFF Bell Lightbox

350 King Street West. Operated by the Toronto International Film Festival. Five auditoriums, year-round programming that leans heavily on festival-circuit titles. During TIFF proper (September), one of the busiest buildings in downtown Toronto.

Outside Toronto

The Rio Theatre (Vancouver)

1660 East Broadway. Vancouver's best independent room. Live music, movies, occasional burlesque. The kind of place you go for Hausu at midnight.

The Broadway Theatre (Saskatoon)

715 Broadway Avenue. Non-profit, community-run single-screen. Documentary-heavy lineup with first-run arthouse fills-ins.

Mayfair Theatre (Ottawa)

1074 Bank Street. Ottawa's repertory cinema. Cult, horror, classic, and rep programming since 1932.

The Roxy Theatre (Saskatoon)

320 20th Street West. Historic 1930 Art Deco building, rep and first-run arthouse.

Princess Original (Waterloo)

6 Princess Street West. Independent rep cinema owned by Imagine Cinemas, programmed independently. Strong documentary and international programming.

The Film Barn (Kingston)

Rural, unconventional, 80 seats. Summer programming only.

What to Expect

Indie cinemas tend to show small-scale independent releases that don't reach the multiplex — films like Anora, The Zone of Interest, Aftersun, Past Lives often played their Canadian runs at the Bloor, the Revue, or TIFF Bell Lightbox while the Cineplex down the street had four screens of the same superhero release. Ticket prices run $13–$15 (non-member) and there's often a membership option that lowers ticket prices and supports programming.

Indie cinema pricing is not what you'd call cheap, but these theatres run on thin margins. Buying a ticket is a vote. Buying a membership is a real investment. These theatres shut down when audiences stop showing up — and every Canadian city that has lost an indie cinema still misses it.