What to know
- Cinema Cellar is opening its first permanent store at 129 John Street on Oct. 16, following the success of TIFF pop-ups and collaborations with Criterion.
- The shop features a curated selection of new releases, cult classics, Criterion Collection titles, and exclusive merchandise from partners like Arrow Video and Elevation Pictures.
- Beyond shopping, Cinema Cellar plans to host community events, special signings, and gatherings for Toronto’s film community.
- The opening comes a day before National Video Store Day (Oct. 17), marking a celebration of physical media’s resurgence.
Toronto, get ready to press play on a film lover’s dream. Building on the success of the beloved TIFF Criterion pop-up, Cinema Cellar is opening its first brick-and-mortar store this week.
From the vinyl records craze and DVD obsession to film collecting, physical media is making a comeback despite easy access to streaming.
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The store acquired Unobstructed View Entertainment and saw film lovers at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2024. In 2025, they collaborated with distribution company Criterion to hold the Criterion Mobile Closet at TIFF. This year, the store rebranded as Cinema Cellar: an extension of Blue Fox Canada.
After successful pop-ups at TIFF, Cinema Cellar, an extension of Blue Fox Canada, will open its first permanent location on Oct. 16 in the heart of Toronto’s Entertainment District, at 129 John Street.
But with streaming being so easily accessible, why is physical media making a resurgence?
“It’s the permanency of it, the collectability, the representation of you. If you love a certain film, when you walk into your living room, and you have it on your shelf, it’s a way to identify or express yourself,” Dave Hudacok, Cinema Cellar President, told Now Toronto.
Hudacok says the store welcomes longtime collectors and new discoverers eager to browse the shelves and find films in person.
Events, community and gathering: What to expect
Cinema Cellar will have bonus features, commentaries, the entire back half of the store dedicated to a selection of Criterion films, and other partners like Arrow Video bringing in titles such as the Stranger Things box set, Elevation Pictures, and Imina Films.
“We’re excited to have customers experience and shop and get that kind of throwback feel of going through the video store and making some picks,” Hudacok said.
Still in the talks, Hudacok plans to host a variety of events, such as an in-store signing with Sophy Romvari—the director of Blue Heron, a film that follows a Hungarian-Canadian family of six as they adapt to a new home on Vancouver Island in the late 1990s.
Cinema Cellar is also working on offering merch. Currently, the store carries Criterion merchandise, including sweatshirts, T-shirts, and tote bags, as well as merch from Nirvana, The Band, The Show, The Movie.
“We’re in the hub of the entertainment district, and we’re continuing to be a place for the Toronto film community to gather, browse and connect with one another,” Hudacok shared.
He hopes to open more permanent locations across the country as physical media makes waves.
“It’s just been so fun to see physical media kind of coming back, and this collectability, and also just the passion that everybody’s kind of shown for it,” Hudacok said.
The reopening comes just ahead of National Video Store Day on October 17, with the Criterion Collection’s Stanley Kubrick box set arriving October 20.
Cinema Cellar will open at 129 John St on Friday, Oct. 16.
