Timeline of the decline of Toronto movie theatres

Preface: Toronto before Cineplex (1906-1979)

• The Theatorium, Toronto's first movie theatre, opened in 1906
• Starting in 1957, 3-Strip Cinerama came to Toronto's University Theatre. Cinerama introduced stereophonic sound and widescreen images to the movies and inspired other widescreen formats like Fox's CinemaScope and Paramount's VistaVision and can be seen as an earlier precursor to IMAX.
• For decades, Toronto basked in a golden age of movie palaces. Cineplex, which arrived in 1979, saw an end to that golden age. What follows is a timeline of the decline.

1979 - [DEBUT] Cineplex Eaton Centre opens

• "18-screen complex was once cited in the Guinness Book of World Records"
• smaller "shoebox-sized" theatres of 56 to 398 seats allowed more movies to be played in a compact space
• some auditoriums used 16mm projection while others used 35mm projection
• quantity of screens over quality of presentation
• more Cineplex multiplex complexes would follow:
  • Scarborough Town Centre - 12 screens - "lowest seat count was 63 in Cinema #7 and higher count of 176 in Cinema #5"
  • Hillcrest Mall
  • Erin Mills
  • Warden Woods
• Journalist Martin O'Malley wrote in the Toronto Star on July 29, 1979: "after one visit I know all there is to know about Cineplex and I don't like it a bit. I fear that soon the world will be crowded with Cineplexes and while that may be interesting, it won't be 'the movies' anymore."

1984 - [MERGER] Cineplex merges with Odeon (1941-1984)

• "Odeon merged with Cineplex in 1984 to form Cineplex Odeon Corporation"

1985 - [DEBUT] Cineplex introduces on-screen advertising

• From the Cineplex website: "revolutionizes an industry by introducing on-screen advertising to its Canadian theatres"
• On November 15, 1985, Cineplex got advance word that the Toronto Star was including a column in their Saturday Entertainment edition that was critical of Cineplex's recent roll-out of (shoe) ads in select cities (including Toronto), so in response Cineplex issued a court order to prevent the Star from publishing it. Toronto Star lawyers rushed to Osgoode Hall and managed to get the order set aside by 11:05pm the night before the already printed newspapers were due for distribution.
  • In the Nov 16 1985 column ("On Your Behalf: Cineplex ad adds insult to injury") Douglas Marshall opined "Movie patrons don't pay $5.50 to become a captive audience for sales pitches." A quote from Cineplex vice-president Lynda Friendly was included: "We think this is a matter that patrons will vote on by their attendance."

1986 - [CLOSED] University Theatre (1949-1986) demolished

• projected 70mm six-track Dolby surround titles such as Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Apocalypse Now, Top Gun and Aliens
• "a single screen theatre that sat some 1300 people"
• "Despite a petition of over 25,000 people, it was closed when the property value became too great to continue operating as a theatre. The University Theatre was demolished in 1986 and, today, only its rebuilt facade remains"

1998 - [DEBUT] Famous Players gets IMAX screens

• IMAX, having primarily been in specialized venues such as museums or the Ontario Science Centre, expands to Famous Players locations such as the Paramount Theatre at Richmond/John St.
• IMAX is renowned for its strict quality control in projection and sound.
• Cineplex makes no IMAX expansion plans but ends up owning the new IMAX locations created by Famous Players and later AMC via aquisition in later years.

1999 - [CLOSED] Hollywood Theatre (1930-1999)

• projected 70mm six-track Dolby surround titles such as Tron and Star Trek III
• "Famous Players closed the theatre in February 1999, and it was demolished later in 1999"

2001 - [CLOSED] Hyland Cinema (1948-2001)

• projected 70mm six-track Dolby surround titles such as E.T., Back to the Future and The Abyss
• "When Cineplex Odeon was granted interim bankruptcy protection two months later, the Hyland was closed immediately."

2001 - [CLOSED] York Cinema (1969-2001)

• projected 70mm six-track Dolby surround titles such as Ghostbusters, Amadeus, Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo and My Fair Lady
• "this two-screen theatre opened in 1969 and closed on August 26, 2001"

2003 - [CLOSED] Uptown Theatre (1920-2003)

• projected 70mm six-track Dolby surround titles such as WarGames and Dick Tracy and later Dolby Digital titles such as The Fugitive and The Matrix
• "the Uptown Theatre was one of Toronto’s largest"

2003 - [CLOSED] Eglinton Theatre (1936-2003)

• projected 70mm six-track Dolby surround titles such as Cocoon, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Malcolm X and DTS titles such as Stargate and Titanic
• "The Eglinton Theatre has now been renovated into a rental hall for banquets and special events and has been renamed the “Eglinton Grand.”"

2005 - [BUY] Cineplex buys Famous Players (1920-2005)

• "from Viacom for CA$500 million"
• This acquisition meant that Cineplex now owned one IMAX theatre in Toronto (the Paramount/Scotiabank).

2010 - [DEBUT] Cineplex introduces UltrAVX

• in the wake of the Avatar 3D craze of 2009 buoying up attendance at IMAX theaters by moviegoers wanting to experience James Cameron's scifi epic in all its big screen glory, Cineplex introduces UltrAVX, which isn't a format like IMAX and doesn't have strict quality controls like IMAX, but it does have the letters A & X in it, so it kinda sounds like IMAX.

2010 - [DEBUT] AMC adds IMAX screens to Yonge Dundas cinemas

• on October 15, 2010, AMC Yonge Dundas celebrated the opening of it's IMAX Theatre with a slate of IMAX films that weekend. Friday's films were:
  • Avatar: An IMAX 3D Experience - Showtime: 3:30 PM
  • Star Trek: The IMAX Experience - Showtime: 7:15 PM
  • The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience - Showtime: 10:15 PM
• Although this IMAX location was only digital (aka "lieMAX") it still has stricter quality controls than Cineplex's UltrAVX.

2012 - [EXIT] AMC leaves Canadian market

• "as part of its exit from the Canadian market, AMC sold four of its Canadian cinemas to Cineplex, including the Yonge Dundas 24 at 10 Dundas East"
• This acquisition meant Cineplex now had a second IMAX theatre in Toronto.

2015 - [DEBUT] Dolby Vision debuts in five non-Toronto theatres

• "Disney’s historic El Capitan theater is one of five theaters in the world to meld Dolby Vision and Atmos together for a mind-blowing experience"
• but no Dolby Vision in Toronto

2023 - [UPDATE] Still no Dolby Vision screens in Toronto (2015-2023)

• Dolby Vision has been available in televisions since 2016 but not in any Cineplex theatres as of 2023. Usually a technical innovation debuts in movie theaters first and then trickles down to the television/home theatre consumer arena later. (See Timeline of Cinematic Innovations and Their Adoption in Television/Home Video) Cineplex has reversed that trend by letting television have an eight year lead and counting (so far) with Dolby Vision.