Over the August long weekend, Jacob Charpentier flew 1,500 kilometres from Yellowknife to Edmonton with one main mission: to see the newest blockbusters, namely Spider-Man: Brand New Day and The Odyssey, on the big screen.
A self-described Marvel fan and movie-lover, Charpentier initially planned a massive weekend marathon of six or seven films — including Supergirl, Jackass, and Masters of the Universe — but limited showtimes forced him to settle on three at the Scotiabank Theatre in West Edmonton Mall: Spider-Man, The Odyssey and Minions & Monsters.
Following the permanent shutdown of Yellowknife’s Capitol Theatre earlier this year, residents in the Northwest Territories capital are experiencing their first summer in nearly eight decades without a local cinema.
Yellowknife’s only movie theatre is shutting down
“It’s kind of madness at some points thinking about it,” Charpentier says.
Charpentier, like many others in Yellowknife, has been feeling the strain of losing the local screen.
“It feels so isolated up here. The rest of the world gets to see this thing and they’re talking about it,” Charpentier said. “You can wait for streaming, but you don’t get that feeling when you’re seeing people dressed up as Spider-Man.”
Having caught every Marvel release on opening day since he was a teenager, travelling south wasn’t just about screen size — it was about escaping online spoilers and sharing a cultural moment.
Between airfare, hotels, food and concessions, Charpentier spent roughly $1,500 for a trip that would have cost under $100 back home.
And he wasn’t alone. Charpentier recognized fellow Yellowknifers in almost every concession line at the Edmonton theatre, reinforcing his belief that a cinema is a basic “staple of any town.”
For 43-year-old Yellowknife resident and longtime Marvel fan Mikey McBryan, the theatre’s closure and rise of streaming services means missing out on the cultural conversation entirely.
“We lost monoculture,” McBryan said. “Everybody has everything they ever wanted to watch … It’s funny enough as a 43-year-old man to say that I’m missing out because I can’t see Spider-Man, but it’s true.”
McBryan, who hasn’t been able to see the film yet, notes that while Yellowknifers were previously “spoiled,” they are now experiencing the same isolation smaller N.W.T. communities have faced for decades.
Both McBryan and Charpentier say they prefer supporting filmmakers legally in theatres, but acknowledge that accessibility barriers might push more Northerners toward online piracy if local options remain limited.
McBryan says finding a viable business model remains a steep hurdle. He notes, surviving off two or three summer blockbusters a year while paying year-round overhead is a tough proposition for any operator.
“How does a full business in Yellowknife survive off maybe one or two or three big movies a year when they [have] to fill the seats every single day of the week? It’s tough,” McBryan says.
Back in February, local residents met to discuss community-led solutions, but progress has stalled. According to Charpentier, building new infrastructure elsewhere is financially out of reach and the co-owners of the building that houses the former cinema, Det’on Cho Group and KingSett Capital, “haven’t made it clear at all what they want to do.”
Neither co-owner responded to requests for comment by publication time.
In the meantime, grassroots groups are stepping up where they can. Cassidy Menard co-runs the Yellowknife Film Club, hosting free monthly screenings of classic movies at the Yellowknife Public Library.
She’s noticed a clear surge in audience attendance this summer.
“People say, ‘You should start doing this more frequently.’ Unfortunately, we just don’t have the capacity to put on more film viewings,” Menard said.
While the club lacks the resources to run a commercial theatre, Menard says they would jump at the chance to collaborate with another organization if an auditorium space became available.
For now, Yellowknife’s big screen remains dark, leaving local cinephiles with few choices.
“Was it worth it? I wish it wasn’t,” Charpentier said of his $1,500 trip. “But I would pay again to do that … I wish I could have stayed in town, though, ultimately.”
