Criterion is opening a lasting Canadian home at Toronto’s Cinema Cellar, launching at TIFF
- Movie Scene Canada
- 4 hours ago
- 4 min read
CRITERION FINDS A LASTING CANADIAN HOME AT TORONTO’S CINEMA CELLAR
Launching during TIFF 2026, Cinema Cellar’s new brick-and-mortar destination and long-term Criterion partnership tap into a renewed appetite for physical media
TORONTO, CANADA - August 25, 2026 – Criterion is putting down physical roots in Canada. This September, Criterion will establish its Canadian home at Cinema Cellar, in partnership with the independent home video retailer and launch of their first brick-and-mortar store in Toronto’s Entertainment District. The new space at 129 John Street, just steps from TIFF Lightbox and Scotiabank Theatre, will establish a physical destination for movie lovers to discover cinema, build their collections, and connect with the community around them.
This partnership and store opening come as audiences increasingly rediscover the appeal of physical media. In 2025, Canadian physical recorded-music revenue grew significantly and the majority of Canadian book buyers said print remained their preferred format. For cinema fans, this return to the tangible allows a deeper dive into the movies they love through original artwork and packaging, new restorations, extensive special features, and collectable editions to keep and share across generations.
For Criterion, which has spent more than four decades championing cinematic discovery, this initiative creates a physical place for that culture to live in Canada. Through a long-term exclusive partnership with Blue Fox Entertainment Canada, Criterion’s celebrated catalogue will be available at Cinema Cellar together with titles from other leading film labels, creating a destination built by film lovers, for film lovers.
“Canada has always been an important part of Criterion's community, and Cinema Cellar is our way of making that concrete — a meaningful and lasting place, not just a presence, and not just for the festival,” said Anne Kawalerski, Chief Marketing Officer, Criterion. “TIFF is one of the great film moments in the world, and we wanted to show up in a way that reflects what Criterion is — a place to discover, to be transported, and to belong to something. We hope people find films they love here, and find each other.”
Cinema Cellar will officially launch during the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, building on an overwhelming response from Canadians when the Criterion Mobile Closet made its first-ever international stop at TIFF last year.
More than 1,000 people visited the Mobile Closet over the first weekend, browsing a collection of classic, rare, and undiscovered films and making their own Criterion Closet Picks. After the success of the Mobile Closet, Criterion is deepening its commitment to Canada with something more permanent.
During TIFF, Cinema Cellar will serve as a destination in the heart of the festival action, offering audiences and industry insiders a place to explore the Collection just steps from the festival’s major downtown venues. The opening will also give visitors an early look at Criterion’s forthcoming box set, The Complete Kubrick, ahead of its official release. A dedicated Polaroid wall will capture the breadth of the Criterion community throughout the festival, with filmmakers, artists, collectors and movie lovers invited to add their own photo to the evolving wall and share their Cinema Cellar experience on social.
Beyond TIFF, its location in the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment District reflects the city’s place as a global hub for cinema, giving cinemaphiles a year-round physical home for discovery and connection with future programming well beyond the festival.
“Our goal with Cinema Cellar, both online and in person, is to ensure we have an unrivaled selection and a seamless way for film lovers to discover and own the movies they care most about,” said Dave Hudakoc, President of Blue Fox Entertainment Canada and Cinema Cellar. “Criterion and their entire team have been incredible partners.
Their profound influence on the film community deserves a lasting presence in Canada, and we are thrilled that Cinema Cellar can be that permanent home.”
Cinema Cellar’s Criterion offering will span classic and contemporary cinema from around the world, while giving Canadians a place to rediscover some of the country’s most celebrated films. Among the Canadian titles available will be Criterion editions of David Cronenberg’s Crash and François Girard’s Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould.
Blue Fox Entertainment Canada has also partnered with Janus Films to handle the Canadian distribution of its slate, including films first discovered by Toronto audiences at the festival. Two Janus titles that were discovered by Canadian audiences at TIFF last year, Magellan and Two Prosecutors, are currently available through the Criterion Premieres line. This year, Janus returns to TIFF with its newest release, The Dreamed Adventure, making its North American premiere at the festival.
Cinema Cellar will open at 129 John Street in Toronto in September 2026. Additional opening and TIFF programming details will be announced soon.
“Film, like any art, has always had an element of collectability, and we are committed to continuing that tradition,” said Ian Goggins, EVP and Partner, Blue Fox Entertainment Canada and Cinema Cellar. “A physical film collection is a permanent monument to the stories that shape one’s love of film.”
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(Poster/Photo/Video credit: Criterion / Blue Fox Entertainment / Cinema Cellar)
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