Cineplex

This theatre gets a bad wrap because it is dated but let’s face it if you want to see a movie downtown your choices are limited. I agree the retro fit cup holders are on a wonky angle and the seats have seen better days but the screen is a good size and the sound is comparable to the other big box theatres. You have to also give points for the food court at Eau Claire and the other restaurants on site if you are looking for a good dinner and a movie spot. They show a good variety of new releases and they have a decent run along with second runs on other titles doing well in ticket sales. Not to mention this is a CIFF venue as well and right near the CIFF box office, how handy! Tuesday’s are $ 7 or $ 6 with your Scene card. How can you beat that!

Probably the worst theater in Calgary. It’s run like a cheap theater and the place looks so crappy. The floors are covered in butter and super slippery. The seats are the old style uncomfortable ones. All in all this theaters is basically a cheap theater quality but charges the high rates of a regular one. Avoid and save your money for a theater where you’d have a better experience.

Probably one of the older big box movie theatres in Calgary situated in Eau Claire mall. Only having 6 screens limits the movies they show here. ⁵⁄₆ auditoriums have sloped seating and your cup holder is in front of you between the two chairs in front. If you are shorter, you may find it difficult to see in front of you if someone is tall, but still ah good place to go. Usually this theatre is not too busy so you can get pretty decent seats a good amount of the time. However a big downside is that concession staff are a bit slow so it can get pretty frustrating waiting in line.

So the first time I went to this theatre, I thought oh great! Cineplex theatre for a cheaper price. But it has stadium seating, so you’re better of going to canyon meadows and saving on admission.

Pay for parking, then wait fifteen minutes to buy popcorn is very frustrating. I won’t be back…

Movie starts in 10 minutes. Doors still locked. Asked about when open. Manager made a snide face and said «soon».

It is funny to think that a Cineplex is only one of three spots in this city to enjoy some alternative film.
Located upstairs in the dying centre of Eau Claire Market, you will be transported back to the early 90s, to a time where pastel greens and pinks, that kind of look like an art deco fan who is blind and has only been told what the design could look like threw on the walls.
It hasn’t been renovated since it was built, picked and peeling stickers for the Calgary Herald line every cup holder and those I am pretty sure they have been stuck on there since 94. The seats are bumpy, the slope of the theatre floor is probably at a grade of .02%, but I love it.
It’s the bastard of Cineplex’s children. It’s also great cause you don’t have to fight the hordes like you would at other Cineplex locations.
They have a mobile ticket pick up station, and a very small box office, which they usually opt to close so you can buy your tickets at concession instead. Can you say up sell!
«Would you like some popcorn with your movie?» There are also several automated ticket stands for card payments only.
But as I prefaced earlier, they do show some of the only alternative films in the city, like when films you’ve never heard of are nominated for an Oscar and then you realize it’s only showing here. I have seen Moonrise Kingdom, Inside Llewyn Davis and Shame here in recent memory.
The only real complaint I have for this theatre is the parking, which is paid if you can’t find one of the 7 street spots after 6 during the week.
I will be sad when this Eau Claire Market overhaul goes through and kills this theatre. Soon it will be just a part of my memory, like the cinema that used to be in Bankers Hall.
Yeah, who else remembers that?

So Chinook was super duper busy! And basically we bought tickets but couldn’t get seats for 5 ppl… So off to Eau Claire we went.
A little dated, yes, but we got in to see our movie and enjoyed it!
So if you want to avoid the crowds, you can always come to Eau Claire.
Parking in the underground parkade is $ 2 I believe (evenings?)

Times are a — changing… and Eau Claire cinemas are not.
I literally live two minutes from this movie theater, so I used to go often. It was close, convenient and not busy at all. However, with all the new theaters that are being installed in Chinook, Cross Iron, etc it’s a hard sell to pay 12 – 15 $ for a movie at this cinema when it clearly has had no upgrades since the 1990’s and is still the same old, same old. The concession stand is kinda sad as it always has 2 – 3 people when its busy and lines up (which it shouldn’t as its never truly «busy» at this theater). I have not been in a while as I really, really prefer the reserved seats of the AVX and the quality of the AVX or the big 3-​D movies of the IMAX. Eau Claire has yet to renovate any of its theaters to keep up so you can imagine they seem to be losing people to the newer styles.
This location was an old IMAX location — which was removed as the world kinda stopped with the IMAX in the 2000’s — However, it has since come back HUGE so I wonder if Eau Claire would step it up and pop an IMAX right back into the big theater they have (#6), or maybe put in an AVX to at least keep the downtown crowd now that the inner city population is also getting biugger?
Who knows — time will tell. I do love the location, but I love the comfort of AVX more :)

I have a new theory: the dingier and older the theater, the higher percentage of PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION.
Ok that didn’t really happen to me and to be honest I’d probably just passive-​aggressively move seats and mumble some comment rather than serving justice.
Anyways, I’m surprised this theater is still holding up, it sits in between the large 3d/​imax/​blockbuster theaters and the indie/​filmfestival small theaters. How are they even staying afloat? Every time I’ve gone there was nobody buying anything from the food stands.
But I sort of like you Eau Claire theater, like a certain she-​who-​will-​not-​be-​named said, this makes for a great place to meet with friends. In the summer time, you’re fortunate enough to be situated by Prince’s Island park, where it makes for pleasant and cozy walks to burn time before movies. WHY DOESN’T ANYONE SUCK FACE THERE INSTEAD?
Unilocal’s 30 Day Challenge ²⁸⁄₃₀

If I have to go to a Cineplex Odeon, I will often choose Eau Claire. Its central location makes it a good meeting place for friends, and I appreciate it for its quiet nature. In fact, the only time I have ever seen this theater really busy, is when it facilitates different film festivals.
I like that this theatre plays both mainstream films, and some films I was worried I wouldn’t be able to see in theatres now that the Uptown has shut its doors. I believe I last came here to see «To Rome With Love,» Woody Allen’s most recent (mediocre) release. The only time Eau Claire’s quietness has gotten to me, was when my friends dragged me to see Paranormal Activity 3 there last year on Halloween, and the theatre was so eerie and quiet afterwards it gave mt the creeps. Then we walked home across the river though and everything was fine again.
Another great thing about this theatre is its surrounding businesses. I love being able to grab a tea at the Bean Stop before or afterwards, and walk around Princes Island discussing the movie I just saw. If you’re coming in the evening or on a weekend, parking shouldn’t be much of an issue either. Any stress parking downtown DOES give you, will make up for all the stress you avoid of going to Chinook Theatre.
*Review ¹⁹⁄₃₀ of Unilocal’s 30 day challenge 2012

You know, it’s not really your average theater. Its true, it’s barely manned by anyone except at the concessions, open odd hours, but it all kind of adds to it’s quirkiness.
And I think I like the 3-​D theater here better than any others. It’s never busy, and ample room, and just an amazing night out for a date or a movie with friends.
It’s also a big supporter of the Calgary International Film Festival which is super cool and the theater itself has a very film festival feel.
I love watching movies here and not worrying about getting a good seat or long line ups for popcorn. I hope it has enough business to stay open and never changes!

I remember when this theatre first opened when I was in high school and it’s gone through a lot of changes over the years. It used to be a part of the Cinescape concept which had a large arcade and lounge attached to it (that section of the old theatre is now a Gold’s Gym).
Stadium-​style seating is all the norm these days, but this theatre still has the smaller cinemas with less seating and slightly smaller screens. It did take over the old IMAX Theatre and converted that to a stadium-​style theatre, but you can still see its old IMAX roots as the screen is way smaller than what can fit in there and the seating rises at a very sharp angle.
There are three things I really like about this theatre. The first is the location. It’s pretty much located in downtown Calgary which makes it central and very convenient, and unlike when I was growing up here, there just aren’t that many options any more for downtown theatres. Second is the pricing. It’s an older venue with smaller cinemas so the pricing reflects that, but you can catch all the latest new releases for less than the bigger theatres, and if you visit on a Tuesday, all movies are $ 6.75 which is a bargain. Lastly, they sometimes play art house and independent films here that they may not play in the bigger theatres. If you’re an indie film fan like I am, it’s great to have lots of options.
As long as Cineplex Odeon Eau Claire Market is around, I’ll definitely keep coming back.

I attended a première here last night, and the staff was so friendly and rad! Not all the screens may be updated to the latest, hi-​tech, digital AvX etc. etc. But the seats are comfy, clean, and I can see over tall people! And everyone politely shut their phones off when the show rolled around. Lovely! Am I biased, because I was sent home with an awesome gift? Nooooooo…
YOU WILL GO TO EAU CLAIRE, OH YES. YOU WILL WATCH MOVIES, ONLY AT EAU CLAIRE… OH YES.
P. S. Can’t wait for the TV show (The Newsroom) to come on, on Sundays! Fascinating show with an awesome cast!

The movie «The Guard» had been recommended to us so we went to go see it while down in Calgary a couple of weekends ago. It was showing at Eau Claire so we parked nearby and walked over.
Pros: the coffee shop on the main level is open late (perfect because we had time to kill before the film and we brought YYC friends with us to catch up with) and the popcorn was cheaper than at a big theatre. I should have gotten butter, though. Really should have.
Sound was fine, picture was fine, I wasn’t freezing in the theatre, and the seats were meh.
Good for seeing smaller movies and I don’t have any major complaints. Sure, some of the lights were out but it just kind of added to the charm.

I have been going to this theatre pretty much since I moved here 14 years ago. Its probably not the best kept theatre in Calgary, but when you are paying like $ 11 to see a move, you cant really complain.
There aren’t many screens in this theatre, but I find this theatre also doesn’t get that busy. People rather go to Chinook or Sunridge, then come to a quiet, usually empty theatre. They also usually are playing whatever the popular movies are at the time as well as one or two less known ones.
The several times (recently) that I have gone to this theatre, they are always empty. I never had a problem finding the «perfect» seat in the theatre. I did recently see the second part of the final Harry Potter’s and the theatre was pretty full, but there were still plenty of seats when I showed up 5 minutes late to the movie.
The ticket purchasing, like others have said, can be confusing, but with the do it yourself machines and now online ticket purchasing, there are many ways you can buy tickets without having to talk to a person.
Food is ALWAYS overpriced at theatres, and this is no different. However, if your going to a Cineplex, you more than likely have a Scene membership card and can use that to get the 10% discount on concessions.
I have never had a problem with the theatres appearance, they always keep them clean and tidy. One thing I dont particularly like about this theatre, is the layout of the seats. I would much rather prefer a staired slop, rather than in incline this theatre has. However I understand that this is a fairly old theatre and that they would more likely have to tear the whole thing down in order to make it up to par with the other theatres in the city.

What on earth has happened to Eau Claire? What was once a bustling indoor market is now a structural husk with a few crappy businesses (mostly selling awful touristy items like coffee mugs with «Calgary» written on them) and a movie theatre that is in need of some major renos.
Went here recently to watch the Lincoln Lawyer and weren’t even sure what theatre we were supposed to be in — we had to exit the lobby and go through some separate side entrance to what is apparently an IMAX theatre that’s now being used as a normal one.
Picture quality was OK, but the chairs were old and creaky and the walls were stained with fabric starting to fall away from them.
If you’re looking to see a movie, bypass Eau Claire. There are way better theatres in Calgary than this one.

Like so many things in Eau Claire, it is really disappointing that this movie theatre is as crappy as it is.
With a downtown, riverfront location, this SHOULD be an exciting destination…
But it isn’t.
I don’t know if it is mismanagement that causes so many things in Eau Claire to be run-​down or what, but the whole place has an unfortunately dumpy vibe.
The one saving grace of the Eau Claire Cineplex is that their film selection is often better (or at least more eclectic) than your other «run-​of-​the-​mill» chain movie theatres.

I never thought I would say (type) this, but I think I’m over the movie theatres in Eau Claire. They used to be my little secret. Nice sized theatres, cheaper prices and I think most of Calgary had forgotten that they are even open.
But I went yesterday by myself to see Salt (yeah, I see movies by myself, what are you doing to say about it?) and like a relationship gone bad, something seemed off.
I don’t know if it was the horribly uncomfortable seats that seemingly go only ¼ of the way up your back, or the giant gash in the screen put back together with tape, but it just didn’t cut it for me anymore.
Even more frustrating was the fact that I paid for the movie and no one checked my ticket. It was in theatre #6 which is down the hall, away from all the other screens and they never have anyone there checking tickets. I don’t like stealing, but a deal is a deal, right?
Eau Claire does tend to get more art-​house (y) films, so for that I’ll probably go every now and then. But for the bigger movies, I’ll have to start looking elsewhere.

I haven’t been to the Eau Claire theatre in years. I suppose it’s because there’s always one closer and more convenient than this one. Boy am I glad that I went here on the other Tuesday.
Did you know that Eau Claire Cineplex still has cheap Tuesday movies? I did not. So, you can understand my satisfaction when I found out about it. The downside, you pay full price for a movie ticket but receive a $ 5.20 concession redemption. At first I didn’t understand what this was and thought that someone had left their tickets in the slot. Silly me.
The concession coupon is good for a regular pop and popcorn, and you receive one with each ticket purchase. Since Eau Claire has cheaper prices regularily, two people can see a movie and each have a drink and popcorn for only $ 20. I think that’s pretty much worth it.
When I went they didn’t have people at the sales booth, but told you to go to concession instead. I think it’s because they aren’t busy enough to have both going at once. This doesn’t bother me at all, in fact, it’s pretty sweet. You can get your tickets and treats all at the same time. It’s like killing two birds with one stone… which I’d never do!!!
So, Eau Claire may be my new Tuesday movie place! I’ll take a bargain any day!