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 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 Yellowhead Highway, and has served as th ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a province in western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dak ...

. 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. With Magic Lantern and Rainbow operate 43 screens, it is the fourth largest movie chain across Canada behind Cineplex Entertainment,

Landmark Cinemas Landmark Cinema of Canada Inc. is a Canadian cinema chain. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Landmark operates 40 theatres with 325 screens, primarily in Ontario and western Canada. Its holdings include much of the former Empire Theatres chain which it a ...

and

Imagine Cinemas Imagine Cinemas is an independently owned chain of cinemas, founded on February 2, 2005. The chain consists of 12 locations with a total of 90 screens in Ontario and British Columbia, making it the third-largest movie theatre chain in Canada, out ...

Locations

The chain currently operates Rainbow Cinemas theatres in Regina,

, and Magic Lantern Theatres in Camrose,

Peace River The Peace River (french: links=no, rivière de la Paix) 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 th ...

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

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

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 census metropolitan area and one of 24 municipalities that constitute the Edmo ...

, Cobourg,

Yorkton Yorkton is a city located in south-eastern Saskatchewan, Canada. It is about 450 kilometres north-west of Winnipeg and 300 kilometres south-east of Saskatoon and is the sixth largest city in the province. As of 2017 the census population of the ...

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 Batt ...

, 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 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 film centers on a down-and-out country music singer-songwriter ( ...

'', ''

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. T ...

'', ''

A Single Man ''A Single Man'' is a 2009 American period romantic drama film based on the 1964 novel of the same name by Christopher Isherwood. The directorial debut of fashion designer Tom Ford, the film stars Colin Firth, who was nominated for the Academy ...

'', '' Departures'', ''

Julie and Julia ''Julie & Julia'' is a 2009 American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron starring Meryl Streep, Amy Adams, Stanley Tucci, and Chris Messina. The film contrasts the life of chef Julia Child in the early years of ...

'', ''

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 i ...

'' and ''

Fantastic Mr. Fox ''Fantastic Mr Fox'' is a children's literature, children's novel written by British author Roald Dahl. It was published in 1970, by Allen & Unwin, George Allen & Unwin in the UK and Alfred A. Knopf in the U.S., with illustrations by Donald Ch ...

''. 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. When Empire Theatres announced that it was selling all their theatres to Cineplex Entertainment 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 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 Saskatoon location.

References

{{Reflist, 30em Movie theatre chains in Canada Companies based in Edmonton Entertainment companies established in 1984 1984 establishments in Alberta Canadian companies established in 1984