Downtown Winnipeg theatre still searching for new owner

CTV’s Harrison Shin takes a look at the Towne 8 Cinema, which closed two years ago and is still looking for a buyer.

Inside the Towne 8 Cinemas, a clock remains frozen at six o’clock—a symbolic stillness that matches the building’s current state.

The theatre, located on Notre Dame Avenue, first opened its doors in 1981 and marked a turning point in how Canadians watched movies.

“It was Canada’s first freestanding eight-screen theatre,” said Rennie Zegalski, principal at Capital Commercial Real Estate Services. “It was quite a highlight at the time.”

For four decades, the theatre welcomed moviegoers before it was put up for sale in January 2023. Interest came quickly, Zegalski said, with an offer arriving almost immediately.

But two years later, the building remains on the market.

“It was tied up for a number of months,” Zegalski explained. “That offer was for a new multifamily development, but unfortunately, the financing couldn’t be put together.”

According to Zegalski, the asking price is currently $2.25 million, with the potential to redevelop the property into an eight-storey residential building—possibly more, pending city approval.

“This site has the ability for greater density and more units,” Zegalski said. “The owner is still open to any reasonable offers.”

If sold and redeveloped, the closure of Towne 8 Cinemas would officially mark the end of first-run movie theatres in downtown Winnipeg.

That’s part of a broader trend, according to Jino Distasio, professor at the University of Winnipeg.

“It’s part of a bigger restructuring,” Distasio said. “We saw big-box theatres open up in malls and suburban areas. The downtown is now left without a single first-run movie screen—aside from Cinematheque, which shows really great movies, but not the blockbusters.”

While some still hope for a creative reuse of the space, Distasio thinks the wrecking ball might come.

“It’s starting to look more likely that we’re talking about a major redevelopment of that site,” he said. “Unless someone finds an adaptive reuse for an old multiplex theatre.”