‘Business as usual’ – but expect a line – on YK theatre’s final day

Yellowknife’s Capitol Theatre will screen movies for the final time on Tuesday, ending roughly half a century in operation at its present location.

The theatre is closing because it has been losing money for years and its lease was not renewed.

The building’s owners have not said what will happen to the space, though late last month they said they were “inviting proposals.” It’s possible a new theatre could open at a later date, though that’s not guaranteed.

Capitol Theatre manager Chris Wood said there are no special measures in place for Tuesday’s final screenings, calling it “business as usual” for the theatre team.

That said, he expects “a huge crowd” given this may be the last opportunity to see a movie on the big screen in Yellowknife. It’s certainly the last chance to visit a working Yellowknife theatre for an indefinite period of time.

From February: Love and loss at the northern movie theatre where everybody worked

If you’re hoping to be among the moviegoers on the theatre’s last night, here’s what you need to know.

What’s playing?

You have three options:

• Hoppers, a Pixar animation in which a robotic beaver triggers an uprising;
• Project Hail Mary, a well-received adaptation starring Ryan Gosling of a book by The Martian author Andy Weir; or
• Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, a comedy horror sequel.

Project Hail Mary screens at 7pm, Hoppers at 7:15pm and Ready or Not 2 at 7:30pm.

That means Ready or Not 2 will be the last film screened at the Capitol Theatre based on start time, though Project Hail Mary is sufficiently longer (two hours 36 minutes versus one hour 41 minutes) that it will be the last film to reach its conclusion before the theatre closes down, assuming all screens run to time.

Trailers won’t be an issue. Just as the theatre’s “coming soon” poster windows are currently blank, so it has been running movies without trailers as there’s nowhere to screen anything coming soon.

How do I get in?

Form an orderly line, in all likelihood.

This promises to be a busy evening. “We expect attending the last day will be a draw,” said Wood.

If the theatre operates to its posted schedule, the doors will open at 6:30pm. It’s probable that some people will start lining up before that to be sure of a seat.

While the Capitol Theatre has in the past sold advance tickets for the opening nights of movies according to a Q&A on its website, Tuesday will be a first-come, first-served operation.

The theatre is cash-only and while there is an ATM on site, the time needed to leave the line and use it might be something you want to avoid.

The Capitol Theatre’s website currently lists Tuesday prices as $7 for all seats. After this article was first published, Wood confirmed that’ll be the price on the last night. (Bargain.)

What happens after Tuesday?

Yellowknifers wanting to watch movies can either do so at home or at the Riverview Cineplex in Hay River, a five-hour drive south.

It’s possible that other venues, like the city’s Northern Arts and Cultural Centre, could be adapted to screen movies on an irregular basis.

The space vacated by the Capitol Theatre could be reopened as a theatre by another tenant or by the building owners themselves. Alternatively, it could become auditorium space for Aurora College or be put to an entirely different use. At the time of writing, no decision about the location’s future had been made public.

The Capitol Theatre has operated in its present location since the mid-1970s. An earlier iteration of the Capitol Theatre operated from 1947 in another building nearby.