Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
259 Richmond Street W,
Toronto,
ON
M5V 3M6
259 Richmond Street W,
Toronto,
ON
M5V 3M6
4 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 40 comments
To reply m00se1111’s statement: Cineplex may have to transfer the Scotiabank Theatre name to Yonge-Dundas and VIP theatre that they acquired in 2012 when AMC departed the Canadian market. Many of its functions like an arcade, Coke Freestyle, party rooms and Outtakes would be relocated there. During the day, some of the auditoriums are used by Ryerson.
This theatre opened on May 19, 1999, with Star Wars-Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Midsummer Night’s Dream, Tea with Mussolini, Life is Beautiful, The Red Violin and Encounter of the Third Dimension in IMAX.
Commercial (low dial-up quality)
There is a Melt ice cream shop and a Starbucks now, in addition to the mini Pizza Pizza. Not sure if Poptopia is still there. That said, a mini Poptopia exists at concession booths.
IMAX VR is gone, being replaced by VRcade. Also, to answer SilverPlaqueVII, the box office was not relocated per se. More precisely, it was merged with the Guest Services and IMAX desk upstairs, which is now a shell of what it originally was. There’s also tons of ticket machines upstairs.
On my recent visit, the Poptopia booth was shuttered in favor of a Starbucks. The box office was relocated upstairs as the former became a IMAX VR since August 2017.
I was in Scotiabank cinema #4 for The Great Digital Film Festival 5:30pm screening of “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” and during the scene where Bones gifts Romulan ale to Kirk I could hear the music from the Cineplex animated short “Lily & the Snowman” leaking through the walls from the AVX cinema next door. I guess because the song was a cover of the Genesis song “Follow You Follow Me”, it was on topic and this was acceptable — not. (Because Genesis is also the name of secret project Khan steals in the movie.)
what are the dimensions of the IMAX screen?
First theatre in the world to install IMAX laser projection. http://gizmodo.com/imaxs-new-laser-projectors-make-me-wish-i-lived-in-a-mo-1689480610
New leather/vinyl rocker seating in all auditoriums, similar to the Ultra AVX seats! (Not sure when they installed them – new since last TIFF at least)
I am an old-time employee of Famous Players and I want people to know that I think the Scotiabank formerly Paramount Theatre is really awesome. I have not observed shoddy film presentation on the many many times I have been there. I love the optical illusion that you are falling back on the escalator going up the 5 stories to the main floor. The sightlines and the seating are comfortable — and the screens are large. I am proud of Famous Players for building this megaplex!!!
This article reports that Scotiabank has 4K projection in Cinema 2 (Christie Series 2 4K 3-Chip DLP (HFR Compatible)):
http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/article/1313763—the-top-10-movie-seats-in-toronto
I uploaded the 1999 Grand opening ad for this theatre as Paramount.
John Fink, Those fast-food places you mentioned were owned by Pepsi. When Famous Players were taken over by Cineplex, they switched to Coke. and booted out KFC etc.
Scotiabank Theatre is getting an Ultra Avx, not to get outdone by AMC.
www.marketwire.com/press-release/Cineplex-Entertainment-Adds-UltraAVX-Auditoriums-In-British-Columbia-Ontario-Quebec-TSX-CGX.UN-1346088.htm
Well, Cineplex shut down Yum! Brands and NY Files mostly for money reasons. Cineplex don’t want to pay franchising fees and they have a good relationship with Pizza Pizza. The ingredients in their pizzas are inexpensive.
They’ve shut down NY Fries, KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut in favor of Pizza Pizza and a smaller concession stand that offers chicken fingers and fries (where NY Fries was). Surf City and Burger King are still in operation.
Jon: There are always be human error and your comment is nothing but exaggeration in my opinion. If that is the case, the theatre management would have hand out free passes after each show and long line ups at guest services people complaining about the poor presentation. But I have to admit, Scotiabank Theatre have long been neglected by Cineplex and Famous Players.
Except for the occasional Imax presentation, I avoid this noisy, tacky looking mulitplex at all costs. To make matters worse, there’s usually something wrong with either the projection or the sound. You can almost always depend on a sloppy and unprofessional presentation at the Scotiabank.
If this is the future of movie exhibition in Toronto, all I can say is LONG LIVE DVD.
See, I saw this theater during the Toronto Film Festival this year and enjoyed it – yes the stairs are too slippery and if you’re in one of the big four theaters you have to then walk up to the (5th? floor) for the bathrooms. As far as I’m concerned in America we’re just catching up to what Famous Players and Cineplex did – the theaters have full food courts, including an expresso bar, smoothie bar and a real bar. (The Cineplex Oden Varsity also has a small bar as well in its VIP section – nice to see the Cineplex Oden name again and not a AMC Cineplex Oden like we have here in the USA).
I liked this theater a lot, it’s in a pretty cool neighborhood full of places to eat and clubs (I can see how that can be obnoxious if you’re just heading down there for a quick movie). I saw it during the festival so I was with the type of audience that maybe doesn’t frequent the Scotibank (all the locals told me they HATE this theater and were in mourning over the Famous Players Uptown). But I liked it, especially during the festival: you can see three movies in a row and not have to leave the theater for breakfast and lunch. I know its not a “Cinema Treasure” but its a decent big, ol' multiplex. Better than the cinemas Regal and AMC build in the US and the inspiration (along with the VIP section at the Varsity) for Cinema De Lux. Canada was ahead of the curve on that one.
I love this page,wow,i never bothered to read it before because i have come to a place in my life where i hate multiplexes and most of the corporations involved!Life is too short to read about this place i thought.I was wrong,this page is so full of negative vibes i find it soothing to read.Thanks everyone.
Theatre renamed Scotiabank Theatres on January 24, 2005, Others Paramount to be converted by April.
Welcome to the Scotiabank theatre and enjoy your show. All 4 Paramount theatres will be renamed Scotiabank Theatre beginning at 2007. Source? www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=619642
Those old Paramount employee uniforms are going to be thrown out and there is no word yet the theatre is going to rebrand into Cineplex Odeon. Getting paid for your name on the theatre is a neat idea.
Attention Chad Irish:
View link
according to this for the right price, you can have this theatre named after you
text below
Cineplex Entertainment Announces Naming Rights Available For Four Paramount Theatres
TORONTO, ONTARIO—(CCNMatthews – Jan. 31, 2006) – Cineplex Entertainment (TSX:CGX.UN) today announced that the four Paramount-branded theatres located in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto and Montreal will be re-named and are available for long-term naming right sponsorship.
Ellis Jacob, President and CEO of Cineplex Entertainment, said “This is truly an extraordinary opportunity for a company to extend their brand awareness and positively position themselves with Cineplex, one of the most highly recognized brands in the country, as well as in the North American entertainment industry. These entertainment destinations host millions of people each year including one of the most highly sought after demographics – our country’s youth.”
These four theatres represent the ultimate in state-of-the-art technology and immersive movie-going environments, with all four theatre complexes conveniently located in the downtown cores of Canada’s biggest cities.
The first Paramount-branded theatre — a modern palace of neon and glass — opened in the heart of Toronto’s downtown club district in May of 1999 and instantly became the destination for urban movie-goers in the area.
Over the next six years, the Paramount Montreal, with its art deco theme, Paramount Calgary, featuring an Egyptian-inspired Temple design, and Paramount Vancouver, with decor inspired by the natural beauty of the West Coast, followed.
These theatres represent the pinnacle of modern urban cinemas, boasting wall-to-wall screens 40-60 feet wide, comfortable all-stadium seating, IMAX theatres, branded food outlets and some feature licensed lounges and private clubs for special events and parties.
The company that elects to sponsor these theatres will benefit from having their brand appear in daily print and online movie listings, exterior and interior signage at the theatres, in on-screen digital pre-shows, in addition to other special promotional opportunities and in conversation – “Let’s meet at the ABC Cineplex theatre”.
The sponsorship agreement is being handled by Cineplex Media. All interested parties can get more information by contacting Cineplex Media President, Salah Bachir, at 416-539-8800 extension 222 or via email at
About Cineplex Entertainment LP:
Cineplex Entertainment LP owns, operates or has an interest in 130 theatres with 1,275 screens (after giving effect to the 7 theatres and 80 screens in Quebec to be divested pursuant to a consent agreement with the Canadian Commissioner of Competition) and is the largest motion picture exhibitor in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, the Partnership operates theatres with the following six top-tier brands: Cineplex Odeon, Coliseum, Colossus, Famous Players, Galaxy and SilverCity. Proudly Canadian, Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund, which owns approximately 50.6% of Cineplex Entertainment LP, is a public company traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under Cineplex Galaxy Income Fund (symbol CGX.UN). More information can be found at www.cineplex.com or at www.famousplayers.com
The bronze railings have been removed after Cineplex bought FP.
I’m just glad that something new was built in downtown Toronto. A lot of theatres were lost over the years like the Imperial Six, Sheraton Centre twin, Eaton Centre 17, among many others. We are supposed to get an AMC Metropolis 24 but I’ll believe it when I see it…it’s been under construction for years. Famous Players was supposed to build a 10 screen multiplex at Yonge and Bloor so I don’t know if this will still go through now that Cineplex Entertainment owns FP. The Paramount may not be to everyone’s taste but at least it has BIG screens and stadium seating and is a great place to see many of the kind of movies coming out these days.