Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

Lots of flash with no substance. A tacky and forgettable multiplex experience provided by Famous Players. From the same company that declined to upgrade and closed the historic Eglinton and Uptown theatres.

in reply to edward, it seems like all multi-plexes are like that, bad managment, bad acoustics, no spectacular deco..

Considering Famous Players is a division of Viacom Inc. (owners of Paramount, CBS, Blockbuster and MTV among others), this multiplex has more in common with Parmount's theme park division.
With a concession area as big as any suburban mall food court and marketing driven distractions filling the public areas, its a wonder they bother maintaining the screening rooms at all.
Give us back the old Uptown Cinema 1, sticky floors and all. R.I.P

Edward, the Uptown's "sticky floors" are nothing compared to the filth present in the Paramount!

Readers, keep away from the Paramount at all costs!!! There are really frightening substances on all surfaces inside the auditoriums... you need to have the cleaning lights on to notice them! Keep away from the back of the theaters as unfavourable patrons hang out there doing, um... whatever they do best. (Stay away from the back of the auditoriums during midnight shows, as wandering there might create for you a personal safety issue).

Speaking of safety, Famous Players uses extremely poor quality step/ aisle lights. They tend to break off at the edge of the step, and you can notice that many are held on with black duct tape! I have personally witnessed patrons taking 20' tumbles down these steps. Yay to stadium seating!!!

Aside from extremely akward floor planning, few staff do any actual cleaning of the essential pop syrup rooms, or food storage rooms for that matter. This creates a permanent "musty, mouldy" smell throughtout the entire upper lobby/food service area. How enjoyable!!!

If all of the above still make you want to see a movie there, all you have left to hope for is that the film is not scratched and actually is projected on the screen (prior to my last visit, the "booth usher" must have been having fun and bumped the projector which moved slightly and was projecting slightly onto the theater wall). Contrary to lies spread by incompetent theater managers, projectors DO NOT scratch film... untrained staff does!
In case you are still wondering if Famous cares at all, take not of this: they employ four technicians to perform maintenance for the four hundred screens they operate in southern Ontario. This gross understaffing results in problems not being fixed until a theater is rendered completely inoperable... and there goes your famous night out!

Today my nephew from Nova scotia and I attended a movie in your theatre. We were very upset over the fact the tickets were $11.50 for a matinee AND we were subjected to over 15 minutes of commercials before the trailors even started to play. The movie was billed for a 2:00 pm start and did not start until 2:25 or so. I can understand the competion, when charging $5.98 for a movie, having a number of advertisements in the beginning of the show. But to charge the rates you do and subject us to the unwarranted assault of the advertisements as you did is nothing short of harrassment as far as I'm concerned. As you probably surmised, I'll not be stepping another foot into your establishment and will do my utmost to inform as many people as possible of your tactics. To make matters even worse, I've just found out I cannot e-mail you without being a member of Cinema Treasures. To put it mildly, your company sucks!!!

gmiller -- as you can see below: "Note: Cinema Treasures is not affiliated with Paramount Toronto." If you want to reach the theater, you should email them directly. Thanks.

gmiller... I have had some bad experiences at the Paramount Toronto too, but after all it is located in Downtown Toronto. If you dont like the way they run things then you should choose another theater. You have to contact Famous Players head office to see if you can get a refund. By reading your letter im guessing thats what you want. I hope this helps.

gmiller...I don't know if you had been to the movies often in the past few years before Dec 30 but in Toronto and across the country, most theatre companies have had advertising before the film starts for years. I'm not particularly fond of it either but if I want to see a movie on a BIG screen, I put up with it. As for the prices, Famous Players has just extended it's policy of $9.95 or less for all theatres in the GTA that it started a few months ago. I personally could do without the commercials and just watch the coming attractions. I believe I read that the major chains are going to list the actual start time of the movie after advertising which I think stems from all of the complaints. By the way I haven't had any bad experiences at the Paramount and think it's a great place to watch movies.

Why is this hunk a junk even listed on here?

As noted by edward...
"From the same company that declined to upgrade and closed the historic Eglinton and Uptown theatres."

Planning on toronto seems to continue in the path of ripping down anything with a bit of substance to surplaning them with souless condos and peices of crap...like this useless, over priced, theme park suburban like hunk a junk. What a waste of prime downtown real estate.

All 4 new Paramount theatres in Canada, Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver will have to be renamed after Cineplex Odeon takes over. The Paramount name is a trademark of Viacom and won't allow the names to be used. I wonder what they will call them now?

Does anyone know the number of seats in each of Theaters 1-4 at the Paramount? I'm trying to plan my schedule for the TIFF and have never been to the Paramount. Thanks in advance.

I was talking to one of the guys who works at the Paramount and he says the number of seats at the Paramount Toronto are...
#1 / 550, #2 / 530, #3 / 450 & #4 / 430.
I cant wait for Cineplex Odeon to take over this theater. Just maybe the new owners will take better care of there customers. I wonder what the new name will be? Im guessing "The Richmond Cineplex Cinemas 14".

Thanks much, Chad!

After visiting this theatre while researching movie theatres for my masters thesis in architecture I must say I was extremely disappointed. It has little to no street impact due to the fact that its jacked up on top of a parking garage and a chapters. I'm glad that I only went to look and didn't actually go see a movie there. While still a vertical power centre, the Paramount in Montreal has a Department Store below it. As for the name I figure it will remain at least for a while. It really whether they were granted a licence to maintain the name. That way they would have to spend movie replacing the signage. And hey, by keeping it as a Famous Players it maintains the illusion of competition.

Are these places really Cinema Treasures? More like Cinema Bomb Shelters. I'd rather go buy a DVD.

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.

The bronze railings have been removed after Cineplex bought FP.

Attention Chad Irish:

http://www.ccnmatthews.com/news/releases/show.jsp?action=showRelease&searchText=false&showText=all&actionFor=578019

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 salah.bachir@cineplex.com

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

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.

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

Theatre renamed Scotiabank Theatres on January 24, 2005, Others Paramount to be converted by April.

Here is a photo of the Paramount Toronto.

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.

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.

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.

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.