An independent Toronto cinema has drawn attention to longstanding distribution practices that limit its ability to screen certain films, reigniting debate over the Canadian movie exhibition landscape. Last week, Imagine Cinemas Carlton, a downtown Toronto multiplex, announced that the new Anthony Bourdain documentary "Tony," directed by Canadian filmmaker Matt Johnson, would no longer be shown at its venue. The decision came after the distributor, A24, pulled the film from the theatre despite presale ticket sales.

Imagine Cinemas attributed the move to entrenched “clearing practices” in the industry, which limit which theatres can play particular films within defined geographic areas, commonly known as zoning. The theatre urged affected patrons to raise concerns with the federal Competition Bureau, framing the issue as a manifestation of the dominant market power held by major theatrical chains in Canada.

Zoning, as defined by the Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors (NICE), is a long-standing but unevenly enforced system that restricts the availability of films to theatres based on location. Though Imagine Cinemas Carlton is not a NICE member, its experience mirrors reports by many independent theatres that they frequently face restrictions preventing them from showing new releases until larger chains have completed their runs.

In the case of "Tony," though the film was withdrawn from the Carlton, it opened instead at nearby Cineplex Cinemas Yonge-Dundas and Cineplex Cinemas Varsity, both part of Cineplex’s extensive network. Stefan Kern, director of operations and exhibition at Imagine Cinemas, said the Carlton regularly faces such limitations, recalling a similar situation with "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," which was pulled just days before its planned opening.

A 2024 NICE report found that more than half of independent Canadian theatres surveyed had to wait for Cineplex locations in their region to finish playing new releases before they could screen them. Nearly 40 percent said eliminating zones would be transformative for their businesses.

Sonya William, director of NICE, explained that zoning originated in an era when physical film prints were physically transported and competing cinema chains negotiated territory divisions. While digital distribution has rendered these logistics obsolete, the practice persists in Canada. William noted that Cineplex, which operates 152 theatres with 1,595 screens and holds an estimated 75 percent market share nationally, benefits most from the system. Distributors seeking commercial success often find it essential to partner with Cineplex, which can limit opportunities for independent operators.

Cineplex declined to comment on zoning publicly, with vice-president of communications Michelle Saba stating that the company licenses films from distributors and that placement decisions rest with those distributors. Representatives for A24, the U.S.-based film distributor behind "Tony," also declined to comment.

A24 has traditionally worked with independent Canadian distributors like Elevation Pictures and VVS Films but has begun self-distributing some titles in English Canada over the past year, including “Warfare,” “Eternity,” and “Ne Zha 2.” In Quebec, it continues to partner with Montreal-based Maison 4:3 due to regional distribution complexities.

Imagine Cinemas Carlton spotlighted the issue partly because of the local audience's enthusiasm for Johnson’s work. The venue’s previous collaboration screened Johnson’s “Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie” for 14 weeks, making the Carlton one of its top-grossing theatres in North America. Unlike "Tony," “Nirvanna” was distributed by Elevation Pictures in Canada and opened simultaneously at the Carlton and a nearby Cineplex location.

Kern stressed the theatre’s commitment to providing audiences with broad film access and lamented how zoning narrows choices, saying that limiting film availability outside of consumer control undermines the democratic nature of cinema exhibition. The dispute highlights ongoing tension between independent theatres and dominant market players in Canada’s film distribution system.