It’s an exciting time to be a movie-lover in Canada! It feels like every month, we hear about a new or newly reopened cinema.
The Twilight Theatre in Gibsons, BC, has been part of the Sunshine Coast community since 1963. When the business (most recently known as the Gibsons Cinema) went up for sale, it looked like the town might lose its movie theatre for good. Three locals decided they didn’t want to live in a community without one: Ed, a fishing charter operator; Steve, a technologist and developer who was once a unionized projectionist; and Dominic, a podcast producer with a theatre and film background. They took on the cinema, restored its original name, and reopened it.
The Twilight is a single-screen house with 132 seats. The grand reopening took place on June 5th with a full week of repertory programming, a different film every night. In the months to come, they’re hoping to bring back live programming and concerts, along with some experimental ideas that we’ll all have to stay tuned to discover!
We spoke with the team about bringing the Twilight back to its roots, and their big dreams for this important community gathering space on the beautiful Sunshine Coast.
Tell us why you decided to take on the Twilight Theatre:
The Gibsons Cinema (formerly Twilight Theatre) has been in this community since 1963. It was in bad shape when it went up for sale. It looked likely that we would lose this community space forever. The three of us—Steve, Ed, and Dom—met and agreed that we didn’t want to live in a community without a movie theatre. We also agreed that this would be a big, but fun, project. And something we truly wanted to do not just for us, but for Gibsons and for the Sunshine Coast. To bring back a theatre that people truly wanted to come back to. A place that’s been here for over sixty years.
This is also why we decided to give this building back it’s original name. It’s why we’re Twilight Theatre once again.
What are your aspirations for the Twilight Theatre?
This was once a thriving community gathering space hosting films, concerts and community events. Once we find our footing and get a handle on running this movie business, we’re going to start introducing live programming, and some experimental ideas too that we’re not ready to say out loud. Again, bring this business back to its roots, and make it a place people want to go to, and don’t want to leave.
What sort of films do you show?
We’re primarily a first-run cinema, but we will occasionally break that up to bring in smart repertory programming when it makes sense. When we opened on June 5th, we started with a week of repertory programming. A different movie every night catered to many different tastes.
People were delighted and every title made money (except for one, which, admittedly, was an indie title no one had heard of. On a Wednesday). We learned right away that there is a demand for more than just first-run films. However, operating since then has also shown us there is significant demand for first-run films too! So we have lots of experimenting to do.
What are the Twilight Theatre’s greatest challenges?
Frankly, the age of the building is the greatest challenge. It hasn’t been maintained well and it’s showing its age. Doors need updating, the projector is… fine but dated. We don’t have air conditioning. Beyond that, there are the usual challenges facing first-run, single-screen cinemas. But we’re a town of 5,000 people. We have 132 seats. Margins are going to be a challenge to figure out.
What was Twilight Theatre’s opening night?
We wanted a real crowd pleaser. A film that everyone can and does love. School of Rock was the obvious choice. Sold every single seat. Our website’s online sales portal proved exceedingly popular. Word of mouth was jubilant. We had a great night, and that energy continued through the opening week and still today.
What are your most popular concession items?
We’ve aggressively managed our pricing strategy to push people to the top of our combo offerings. And it’s working. People are very consistently choosing the Large combo (Large popcorn, large soda, regular candy). Most also pay extra for layered butter.
On the candy front, Sour Patch Kids are big sellers, and M&M Peanuts too.
Tell us about yourself; how did you get your start in film exhibition?
Ed and Dominic got our start in film exhibition by buying this cinema! When Steve was younger, he was a unionized projectionist, but it’s been a minute. Dominic has a theatre background and also worked in the film industry for a few years – but it’s been a minute. Twilight Theatre is owned and operated by a fishing charter operator(Ed), a technologist and developer (Steve) and a podcast producer (Dominic).