Movie Theatres in Toronto - Old and New

[Towered]

I remember back in the 90's that about a half dozen of these old neighbourhood main street movie theatres were run by a single company. I recall it included the Revue, the Fox, the Kingsway, the Capitol, possibly the one in Little Italy on College Street...

 

[Northern Light]

More on the Revue saga in the Globe and Mail:

‘This is about a love of movies’: How Toronto’s Revue Cinema became a streaming-era success story

With a shift toward more event based cinema, the curators who introduced the shows and held post-screening Q&As at the Revue started to become as much of a draw as the movies themselves

www.theglobeandmail.com

Some interesting bits........they're top line revenue is great for a venue of this size:

Its very clear that staff/The Revue Film Society have put a lot of effort into building the theatre into a successful business.

But also clear is that the building owner, who bought it in order to save it as a working cinema is genuinely passionate and a bit angry that he feels the building hasn't been more cared for...

The Film Society notes they've spent at least $500,000 in improvements on the building, including have the whole thing re-plumbed.

I imagine the owner is more concerned with the original exterior/marquee never having been restored.....though that goes unmentioned...

Its a shame the owners and operators have been not able to have a more fruitful dialogue.

 

[smably]

Commercial leases are bizarre. Imagine if a residential landlord expected you to renovate the house they own on top of paying rent?

 

[Northern Light]

Commercial leases are bizarre.

Sometimes, LOL

Imagine if a residential landlord expected you to renovate the house they own on top of paying rent?

I'm pretty sure the rent for the Revue was set at a very favourable level relative to market, in part to make sure there was money for building restoration.

Keeping in mind that the owner was 79 when he purchased the property and is now 96, and is not the CEO of a real estate empire or such.....

***

Leasehold improvements are not an uncommon issue in Commercial Leases and can cut both ways, with the landlord performing those and recovering them through the rent, or allowing a tenant to lead and usually crediting the rent in exchange.

 

[rdaner]

Basically saying that The Ted Rogers Cinema has worked through issues including selling the building and lease back. I am going to speculate that we will see a proposal to build up over the cinema to make a sale feasible.

Hot Docs confirms 2025 festival, plans for Toronto cinema as arts organization plots path forward

The 32nd annual edition of North America’s premiere documentary film festival will go ahead next spring, while its working board is prioritizing rebuilding its membership and recruiting a new permanent leader

www.theglobeandmail.com

 

[Northern Light]

Basically saying that The Ted Rogers Cinema has worked through issues including selling the building and lease back.

Permission to, no sale has been made.

I am going to speculate that we will see a proposal to build up over the cinema to make a sale feasible.

Won't happen without adjacent acquisition, even then, quite improbable, very costly.

 

[argento2665]

Does anyone remember the small theatre/screening room back in the 80s/90s that played all classic films? It was above a larger rep theatre, maybe the Kingsway, and had a library as well. I thought it may have been called the Nostalgic but I found nothing online about it.