It's Halloween, and five 7pm-ish screenings at Landmark Cinemas inside Edmonton City Centre have mostly sold a quantity of tickets that can be counted on two hands. The only proper horror movie on this day of days for horror movies is Shelby Oaks, and it has just one paying viewer: Me.
You can tell how many tickets have been sold by using the kiosk just beyond the theatre's roll shutters, where ticket buyers reserve seats by snagging a ticket. Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere, Yorgos Lanthimos's Bugonia, a singalong showing of KPop Demon Hunters, and the found footage-horror film Shelby Oaks have sold less than 10 tickets. Guillermo Del Toro's Frankenstein has sold 11.
Three employees and about 10 moviegoers are in Landmark's lobby. Inside, dim lights illuminate a patterned, beige-and-black carpet. A small video game arcade to the right is empty. Only one of two concession stands, the one on the right, is operating, with four people in line. The smells? Popcorn, butter, salt. Sounds? An eerie hum from the heating system and little else.
Though Halloween trails Christmas and the summer blockbuster season for movie box office sales, especially when it falls on a weekend (though there are exceptions), Edmonton's downtown Landmark is often quiet, something I've noticed for years.
When I saw Saltburn in November 2023, I was also alone in the theatre.
This extremely slow Friday night at Landmark mirrors the decline of the mall it calls home. Edmonton City Centre entered receivership (a legal status of an insolvent business similar to bankruptcy) in July, reportedly owing creditors close to $140 million. Insolvent malls are often sold, demolished, or redeveloped, a consultant previously told Taproot.
But Landmark and downtown are vital in ways beyond first appearances. Landmark is the only dedicated movie theatre in the central core for first runs of major theatrical releases (the comparatively nearby Garneau Theatre, the home of Metro Cinema, plays just some major releases, and typically weeks after their first run). Landmark is also a haven for local non-profit arts organizations and indie filmmakers. The Edmonton International Film Festival, FascinAsian Film Festival, and the Mosquers Film Festival all use it as a venue. Coming up, Brimstone Pictures's new film Contamination will screen at Landmark from Nov. 14 to 16.
It's also the only first-run cinema in the city with low-floor LRT service right to the front door.
Landmark City Centre is a meaningful place for people who care about movies, the head of the Edmonton International Film Festival told Taproot. "EIFF has had an outstanding relationship with both Landmark Cinemas and the downtown community," Vincent Brulotte, the artistic director of the festival, said in an email. "We hope to continue that relationship through whatever changes may come in the future, and we are proud to host our festival in the downtown core and help contribute to its ongoing revitalization."
Landmark Cinemas auditorium five on Oct. 31, 2025. (Colin Gallant)
If Landmark (or the mall) closes, the nearest first-run movie options for residents of downtown and other nearby, densely-populated neighbourhoods, like Wîhkwêntôwin, are three Cineplex locations, all within a 20-something minute drive of the downtown core. For now, Edmonton City Centre is still open, which its owners tried to make clear in September.
Taproot asked Calgary-based Landmark for an update on the location after learning of the mall going into receivership. "As of right now, we have nothing valuable to offer as a statement regarding our tenancy at City Centre," Olivia Goemans, the digital content and publicity manager for Landmark, told Taproot in September. Goemans did not respond to a follow-up email on Halloween.
Edmonton's new mayor, Andrew Knack, also has a soft spot for seeing films at Landmark. "(It's) still the best place in the city to go watch a movie," he said during a campaign forum on Oct. 1.
In my experience, it's been a destination to see the latest flicks without suffering the typical crowds that you find at busier theatres — ones close to or attached to malls that are not on the brink of financial ruin, or even Landmark's other location in Edmonton, Tamarack Edmonton.
Yet on Halloween, Landmark feels spooky for reasons beyond the unsatisfying Shelby Oaks. After raising the arm rests on my seat and sprawling out, alone, the only thing that offers a fright is the emptiness of the theatre and mall on my walk out.
I left around 9:30pm and saw no one except the cleaning staff. I then took the LRT to the Muttart stop with about 15 other passengers, and walked home for 20 minutes in the river valley, where I saw one other living person.
By the time I got to my front door, it felt like I'd seen a ghost.