About

The Paradise Theatre is a multi-arts venue in the heart of Bloorcourt, that offers a unique blend of film and live programming. We seek to live up to the vibrant history of our building and our neighbourhood by creating opportunities to bring our community together.

Our journey began in 1910- the “one-story brick theatorium” Bloor Palace was built, part of a wave of new development as this section of Bloor Street was originally paved. We became known as The Paradise in 1937 when our theatre was officially born. The new venue had 643 seats, including a balcony where you could “smoke if you wish.” The theatre was styled in the Art Deco and Art Moderne, under the direction of one of Toronto’s earliest practising Jewish architects, Benjamin Brown.

Throughout the 50s and 60s, the Paradise Theatre underwent a series of changing ownership including German, Italian, and Gujarati communities.

Local family, the Giacominis, purchase Paradise and operate it as an Italian filmhouse and grocer. Every three months, Francesco Giacomini brought unsubtitled 35 mm film prints back from Italy to share with a local audience.

In the 1980s Paradise is taken over by the “Eves and Edens” chain of adult theatres. Paradise is re-named “Eve’s Paradise. By 1990 Paradise joined the Festival cinemas chain, which showed repertory and arthouse fare in Toronto’s stalwart single-screen venue including the Bloor (now Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema), Revue, and Fox. With the closing of the Festival Cinemas chain in 2006, Paradise shut its doors. 

In 2019, Paradise celebrated its grand reopening with a state of the art venue and continues to host a wide variety of entertainment. The paradise pays homage to the storied history of our theatre by curating a wide selection of rare and classic films. Every month at the paradise, we host a themed screening series for the casual film fan and cinephiles alike. We work with a talented set of curators to produce recurring film series and event screenings. our programming has been highlighted in Toronto Star, CBC, and other local publications.

Our mission is to create opportunities to feel human by connecting, delighting and inspiring patrons. Paradise brings people together to share memorable experiences by creating a hospitality-first, curated offer with broad appeal.