As Cineplex considers a potential sale, audiences appear to be rediscovering movie theatre magic

In a news release this week, Cineplex said it is undergoing a strategic review, and that selling the company may be part of its future. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Social SharingAs Cineplex indicates a sale might be in its future, experts and the company's own financial reports suggest movie theatres are seeing a resurgence in popularity in Canada, thanks in part to younger generations of cinephiles.

A memo released this week announcing Bill Walker as the company's new CEO said Cineplex has initiated a strategic review to look at opportunities "to enhance and maximize value for all shareholders" that could include selling the company. 

"While we remain highly confident in the company’s future prospects, we are committed to evaluating all available opportunities and remain open-minded regarding potential outcomes," said Phyllis Yaffe, head of Cineplex's board, in the memo.

The news comes after Cineplex reported box office revenues of close to $98 million in August, its highest monthly box office performance in the company's history, driven by the release of summer blockbusters The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. 

The company also reported it saw a 12.7 per cent increase in theatre attendance in the first half of 2026 compared to the same time period last year, with a 12.3 per cent increase in revenues. 

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Still, movie theatre attendance hasn't fully returned to pre-pandemic levels, with a recent Telefilm Canada study finding ticket consumption per capita in 2024 was about half of what it was in 2019.

However, the report also noted that 2019 was a year that saw the release of several blockbuster films, and that 2024 ticket consumption was only four per cent lower than 2014. 

While moviegoing may not be what it once was, it's still an important part of popular culture, said Paul Moore, a professor at Toronto Metropolitan University who studies the history of moviegoing and movie theatres. 

"I don't think a change in ownership is going to change the place that Cineplex has in the retail landscape or in our cultural landscape," he said.

"There's no hint that megaplexes are losing so much money that somebody actually wants to shut them down and rework their real estate."

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The same Telefilm report also suggests that young people aren't replacing going to the cinema with streaming, at least not entirely. The report found that 85 per cent of respondents under 35 said they were moviegoers, compared to 54 per cent of those 35 and up.

That's been the case throughout most of history, Moore said, since movies have always catered to young people. 

"So it's good to see that continuity with the past," he said. 

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Independent cinemas are also seeing a bump in attendance year-over-year, said Sonya Yokota William, the director of the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors. 

William attributes the bump in part to younger, Gen-Z audiences that are "more curious and more adventurous and happy to go out and see something that maybe they wouldn't have before."

The Revue Cinema on Roncesvalles Avenue in Toronto, one of a handful of independent cinemas in Canada's largest city. (CBC)But with Cineplex taking in close to 74 per cent of all box-office revenue in Canada, William said she worries that any changes in ownership could "really hurt cinema going in this country." 

However, Moore pointed out that the majority of Canada's cinemas were under foreign ownership for most of their history, back when Famous Players — a subsidiary of U.S-based Paramount — dominated the country's movie theatre industry.

Moore said he doesn't think much has changed since Famous Players was bought by Cineplex in 2005 in terms of what's offered to moviegoers. He also pointed out that Landmark Cinemas, its nearest competitor in Canada, is owned by a Belgium company that offers similar content. 

"In general, the fact that Cineplex is owned by a Canadian company is really making very little difference to the kinds of movies that it's showing and its role in the Canadian film industry."

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In any event, the sale of Cineplex to new owners seems to be only a possibility at this point. 

In its memo, the company said "no decisions have been made."

"There can be no assurance that the Strategic Review will result in any transaction, agreement or other strategic outcome," the memo read. 

The chain was last up for sale in 2019, when the company agreed to a $2.8-billion buyout by U.K.-based Cineworld Group PLC. But the deal fell through duing the COVID-19 pandemic when theatres were forced to abruptly shut down. 

Sarah Petz is a Toronto-based senior writer with the CBC News live pages team. Born and raised in Manitoba, her career has taken her across three provinces, multiple cities and to northern Uganda.