Magic Lantern Theatres is a chain of 11 movie theatres in Canada. Three of these locations are Rainbow Cinemas discount theatres. Magic Lantern Theatres was founded in 1984 in Edmonton, Alberta, while Rainbow Cinemas was founded in the early 1990s in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

. The two chains merged and are now based in Edmonton. In May 2016, a strategic decision was made to sell all of the Ontario cinemas to Imagine Cinemas, except for the Cobourg location. Magic Lantern and Rainbow operate 43 screens, and the combination is the fourth largest movie chain across Canada behind

Cineplex Entertainment Cineplex Inc. (formerly Cineplex Entertainment and Cineplex Galaxy) is a Canadian operator of movie theater and family entertainment centers, headquartered in Toronto. It is the largest cinema chain in Canada; as of 2019, it operated 165 loc ...

Landmark Cinemas Landmark Cinemas Canada LP. is a Canadian cinema chain. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Landmark operates 36 theatres with 299 screens, primarily in Ontario and western Canada. Its holdings include much of the former Empire Theatres chain which it ac ...

and

Imagine Cinemas Imagine Cinemas is an independently owned chain of cinemas, founded on February 2, 2005. The chain consists of 11 locations with a total of 72 screens in Ontario making it the third-largest movie theatre chain in Canada, outside of Quebec, and ...

Locations

The chain currently operates Rainbow Cinemas theatres in

Cobourg Cobourg ( ) is a town in the Canadian province of Ontario, located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto and east of Oshawa. It is the largest town in and seat of Northumberland County. Its nearest neighbour is Port Hope, to the west. It is ...

, and Magic Lantern Theatres in Camrose,

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

St. Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Whitecourt Whitecourt is a town in Northern Alberta, Canada that is surrounded by Woodlands County. It is approximately northwest of Edmonton and southeast of Grande Prairie at the junction of Alberta Highway 43, Highway 43 and Alberta Highway 32, Highw ...

Fort Saskatchewan Fort Saskatchewan is a city along the North Saskatchewan River in Alberta, Canada. It is northeast of Edmonton, the provincial capital. It is part of the Edmonton Capital Region#Edmonton CMA, Edmonton census metropolitan area and one of 24 muni ...

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about north-west of Winnipeg and south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. Yorkton was founded in 1882 and incorporated as a city in 1928. ...

North Battleford North Battleford is a city in west-central Saskatchewan, Canada. It is the seventh largest city in the province and is directly across the North Saskatchewan River from the town of Battleford. Together, the two communities are known as "The B ...

, Meadow Lake and

Dawson Creek Dawson Creek is a city in northeastern British Columbia, Canada. The municipality of had a population of 12,978 in 2016. Dawson Creek derives its name from the creek of the same name that runs through the community. The creek was named after ...

. Magic Lantern was responsible for restoring the interior of the formerly derelict

Garneau Theatre The Garneau Theatre is a historic movie theatre located on 109 Street in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The theatre originally operated independently until it joined with Famous Players in 1941. It closed in late 1990, and reopened in December 1991 u ...

, near the University of Alberta in Edmonton. It managed this location until June 2011, when its exterior was restored and the theatre was taken over by

Metro Cinema Edmonton Metro Cinema Edmonton is an independent cinema and non-profit organization in Edmonton, Alberta. Since 2011, Metro Cinema has operated out of the Garneau Theatre in the Strathcona district of Edmonton. Prior to that it operated out of the Zeidler ...

, a local nonprofit. In 2010, the company acquired the Carlton Cinemas theatre in downtown Toronto, a historic venue for independent and arthouse films which was closed by

Cineplex Odeon Cineplex Odeon is a theatre brand owned by Cineplex Entertainment in Canada, after acquiring the Cineplex Odeon Corporation in 1998. As of 2023, there are 61 Cineplex Odeon locations in Canada. The former corporation was one of North America's ...

in fall 2009. The theatre reopened as part of the Magic Lantern chain on June 30, 2010 with a two-day program of free films, including ''

Crazy Heart ''Crazy Heart'' is a 2009 American drama film, written and directed by Scott Cooper in his feature directorial debut. Based on the 1987 novel of the same name by Thomas Cobb, the story was inspired by country singer Hank Thompson. Starring Je ...

'', ''

Chloe Chloe (; ), also spelled Chloë, Chlöe, or Chloé, is a feminine name meaning "blooming" or "fertility" in Greek. The name ultimately derives, through Greek, from the Proto-Indo-European root , which relates to the colors yellow and green. Th ...

'', ''

A Single Man ''A Single Man'' is a 2009 American historical drama film, period romantic drama film based on A Single Man (novel), the 1964 novel by Christopher Isherwood. The List of directorial debuts, directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, the fi ...

'', '' Departures'', ''

Julie and Julia ''Julie & Julia'' is a 2009 American biographical comedy drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep and Amy Adams in the title roles with Stanley Tucci, Chris Messina, and Linda Emond in supporting roles. The film cont ...

'', ''

Away from Her ''Away from Her'' is a 2006 Canadian independent drama film written and directed by Sarah Polley and starring Julie Christie and Gordon Pinsent. Olympia Dukakis, Michael Murphy, Wendy Crewson, Alberta Watson, and Kristen Thomson are featured in ...

'' and '' Fantastic Mr. Fox''. This theatre is now operated by

In October 2013, the company acquired the Elgin Mills Cinemas theatre in Richmond Hill. The theatre was previously owned by Cineplex Odeon from its opening in 1995 to September 30, 2005 when it was bought by

Empire Theatres Empire Theatres Limited was a movie theatre chain in Canada, a subsidiary of Empire Company Ltd., the holding company of the Sobey family conglomerate. In June 2013, Empire announced it would exit the movie theatre business, selling the vas ...

. When Empire Theatres announced that it was selling all their theatres to

and

, this theatre was not one of them, so the location closed on August 15, 2013 when its lease expired. The theatre reopened on November 20, 2013. In 2016, it was taken over by

. In late-2016, Magic Lantern announced preliminary plans to build what was to be another first-run theatre in the

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

neighbourhood of Saskatoon. However, the project was acquired from Magic Lantern by Landmark Cinemas. It was also announced in May 2018 that Rainbow's cinema at The Centre in Saskatoon would close in 2020, as it was denied a lease renewal due to a new Cineplex theatre being constructed on the property, complementing that chain's flagship

Scotiabank Theatre Scotiabank Theatre (French: Cinémas Banque Scotia) is a Canadian banner of Multiplex (movie theater), multiplex cinemas owned by Cineplex Entertainment. The brand was established in 2007 as part of a wider partnership between Cineplex and Sco ...

Saskatoon location.

References

External links

Rainbow Cinemas - Magic Lantern Theatres Website
{{Cinema chains in Canada Movie theatre chains in Canada Companies based in Edmonton Entertainment companies established in 1984 1984 establishments in Alberta Canadian companies established in 1984