At a former firehall in the rural town of Hinton, Alta., in a space shared with plays, concerts and birthday parties, Hinton Movies captured the hearts and minds of dozens by screening a Bollywood comedy called Bhooth Bangla.
Curious movie lovers showed up alongside some of Hinton’s Indian community. Langford said screenings like that are among the theatre’s most successful.
“Because it’s more than just seeing a movie, it’s about experiencing things with other people.”
That kind of tailored programming is largely possible because Hinton Movies, established in 2017, operates as a non-profit. The Rotary Club stepped in to bring movies back to the town of 10,000 after the former Roxy Theatre burnt down in 2009.
Unlike larger chains tied closely to major studio releases, Hinton Movies has more flexibility to show documentaries, Canadian indie films and old cult classics.
“We are representative of something more than just a blockbuster experience,” Langford said.
Sonya Yokota William, founder and director of the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE), said that flexibility is what’s keeping some screens across Canada from going dark.
Operators from across Alberta who spoke to CBC News said theatres are struggling with rising costs, streaming services, restrictive Hollywood rules, and the aftermath of COVID-19.
Earlier this year, the former cinema in Stettler became a church. The Landmark Cinema in Edson has been on the market for months.
In Jasper, the independent Chaba Theatre closed in 2022 after nearly a century of business.
Taking the Chaba’s reins from his father in 1972, Dwain Wacko said he watched the twin screen theatre thrive in the transition from film reels to digital projection, but ultimately succumb to the economic storms of streaming services and the pandemic lockdowns.
“There was always a challenge,” said Wacko, adding he knew for years the theatre would not outlive him.
He said that making the decision to shutter the theatre after 97 years was the most stressful period of his life.
“I felt somewhat guilty about eliminating an institution.”
He recalls many years ago when Chaba closed for six weeks for renovations.
“A couple of the businessmen that were nearby said, ‘When are you going to open? We need you, you bring people downtown,’” Wacko shared.
William said cinemas also create value for what they offer socially.
In 2024, NICE reported that 34 per cent of independent cinemas in Canada were the only cultural or entertainment option in their community, and over half were operating at a deficit.
“Every time a cinema closes, it’s a tragedy,” said William.
Noel May, co-owner of May Theatres, is the fourth generation to continue the family’s 80-year legacy of operating independent cinemas across Western Canada.
“We feel a duty, an emotional tie to the community to keep the lights on in that building,” May said about their Wainwright location, which is approaching its 75th anniversary.
The Alma recently upgraded projectors and offerings like nachos and cotton candy. But May said a slow bounce-back from pandemic shutdowns has the company cautious about incurring further capital costs.
“It’s just hard to justify putting more in when essentially we’ve been in a break-even position since COVID-19.”
While locations in Cold Lake, Alta, Lloydminster, Sask., and Castlegar, B.C. are performing stronger, he said the Alma is bearing the brunt of household budget cuts.
“We’re fighting for that discretionary dollar,” he added. “Hard-earned dollars are hard to come by these days.”
Stettler theatre showed its final film at the start of 2023. The Red Deer Advocate reported that the former owner cited the lack of new movies post COVID, streaming service release dates shrinking, and studios taking a hefty cut of ticket sales.
That loss is felt by people who live in Stettler, like Becky Pinette.
“It was definitely disappointing to see,” said Pinette, who moved to the central Alberta town about a year before its closure. “I’m always wanting to support local before I drive all the way to Red Deer or wherever else to go watch a movie.”
That same reality is at stake in Edson. Mayor Kevin Zahara said the downtown Landmark theatre has been an anchor in the town for 71 years. Landmark has declined to comment, but the single screen theatre is listed as a $395,000 turnkey business opportunity.
“We’ve seen newspapers go by the wayside, movie stores go by the wayside. And so to lose a theatre would be also devastating,” he said.
The key to rural cinema survival, said William, is moving away from reliance on blockbusters.
She said major studios tend to require theatres to dedicate screens exclusively to one new release for extended runs, a practice known as “clean screen.” But rural demand is finite, and ticket sales can drop as extended runs continue for weeks, while new films wait in line for screen time.
For May Theatres, “clean screen” requirements aren’t as much of a challenge. The Alma, the company’s smallest venue, provides variety between three screens.
But Langford said the single screen behind Hinton Movies will never see a blockbuster movie on its first week of release.
Langford said the multiplex cinema experience is not as viable as it once was, especially in smaller markets.
“[Movie theatres have] gone from being a publicly valued enterprise, to independent small places, to non-profits kind of being the last line of defence, so to speak,” said Langford.
While May said his theatre’s aren’t considering a non-profit model anytime soon, he sees his business — and the industry — as resilient, and necessary.
“A theatre is a cultural touchstone, it’s a community hub. We do far too few things together with other people,” he said.
“Our obituary as an industry has been written so many times, but it keeps going, because people crave that shared experience.”
