A Geographic Perspective on Cinemas in Canada
The goal of this paper is to provide a geographic perspective on the distribution patterns of cinemas in Canada and to focus on some of the features that underlie their spatial organization. This analysis is based on the development of a geographic and evolutionary database of Canadian cinema centres. Listed in the database are the sociodemographic profiles of the district locations of each movie theatre. These locations are defined in terms of their service areas. Analysis of the data illustrates the different spatial strategies of Canada’s largest cinema chains, both nationally and locally. While the spatial distribution of the cinemas of certain chains is relatively even across the country, it is more regional and local in others. Concerning the socioeconomic profiles of district locations, some chains tend to prefer high-income areas; others favour lower-income neighbourhoods. An in-depth analysis of sociodemographic profiles, on the other hand, does not reveal any significant difference in terms of cinema accessibility.