Apollo Cinema — Attraction in Kitchener

• EDITED: 07/06/2025 *

I have learned that the Apollo Cinema, after years of amazing programming, is focusing exclusively on regional Indian films. I believe that this was done strategically.

The Apollo was recently sold without warning to new anonymous owners. I just learned that they had the former Apollo owners sign a non-disclosure agreement. Why? Who does that? Is there some nefarious reason to keep one's identity private? By purchasing the cinema in such a sneaky manner and not informing members nor refunding our memberships, it shows a callous, disrespectful attitude on the part of both new and old owners. Why not tell us who you are?

I am shocked,disappointed and very upset. I feel as if I was cheated and a victim of fraud. I just renewed my membership @ the Apollo, as did others, because we loved that cinema. We loved their programming. I loved how I was treated as a person with disabilities. This change is awful.

I have a suspicion as to who the new owners are. Only greedy, disrespectful narcissistic people would treat loyal patrons in this manner. Truth stings & if it is whom I suspect, they are despicable people.

I praised the Apollo in a negative review (posted in January) regarding the Princess Cinemas. I have been treated badly, by the owners, at the only remaining rep cinema in Waterloo Region, the Princess, and wanted people to know how a person with disabilities is treated there. See my review of the Princess if you are interested.

I will not support Apollo Cinema because I want to see Hollywood and Indie films. I will not support Princess Cinemas either due to my horrible experiences there, which is too bad because I gave it a 5✴️ review 5 years ago. I was a member there for over a decade and 🥰 it but no more.

There is still the Bookshelf in Guelph unless the same narcissistic people get their hands on it. If you don't mind driving to Toronto, then there are some fabulous rep theatres there too.

I feel as if Apollo Cinema has been disrespectful and duplicitous towards its members. What are all the members to do, like myself, who bought a membership thinking that we were going to see Hollywood movies? We loved the Indie films. We loved the retro movies. We loved cereal and movies on a Saturday. I loved the sing-a-long movies. Terrible, terrible decision on the part of the new owners but I suspect that it was made on purpose to limit choices.

No local cinema will probably ever live up to the Apollo. The staff were wonderful, empathetic, friendly people. They treated patrons with disabilities with respect, courtesy, and accommodation. They were so helpful. Thank you for years of wonderful service.

The locale, though old, had a certain charm about it. As accessibility goes, it was great. And the tables were fantastic. They were so useful for patrons with disabilities.

The staff at other cinemas are great too. It's usually the owners who do not care about their patrons. At independent businesses, one gets to meet the owners personally where one can see what their character is like.

Thank goodness for streaming services and video apps. Get your Indie, docs, alt., etc. movies for what it costs to go out to the movies plus the snack options are unlimited. Since staying home, I've saved a lot of $$$. I will go out to see movies again, when I find a cinema where persons with disabilities are treated with equity and respect.

That's what I'm going to do. BTW, I am working on several projects that I hope will offer former Apollo members & patrons with a similar experience that they grew to love. hopefully at a comparable or cheaper cost. Please stay tuned!!! 📽️🎥🍿😀

FURTHER UPDATE: I've emailed the management twice asking about a refund on my membership as I think they are keeping the money under false/fraudulent circumstances. NO REPLY!!! NO REFUND!!! (any legal Eagles who have an opinion about a class action to get...

As a preface, if you want a GOOD independent cinema, go to the Princess. It's in the heart of Uptown, you can take the train right to it if you're from Downtown Kitchener.

I have been going to the Apollo Cinema for a decade and formerly had a membership for nearly as long. I wouldn't always attend monthly, but I would always renew my membership when the time came in support of the endeavor to keep independent theatres alive and relevant within KW.

Several issues have arisen this year though. Several many people are aware of that you can read in these reviews. Whether this be due to new management or simply a change in direction, there are still fundamental issues with what is being done at the Apollo.

For a start, the rapid alteration of what is shown completely uproots what the Apollo Cinema is advertised as. When people buy memberships or take an interest in this business, they do so because of how it describes itself- as a spot for film enthusiasts of the unique Kitchener-Waterloo community, its google description (as of writing) describing the theatre as a "single-screen venue for cult & art-house films". It is not that. It is now just a Bollywood regurgitation fest, only showing one kind of film for one kind of audience that is not specified anywhere at all.

Management is clearly disinterested in this though. You can tell as we've gone from having over a month scheduled in advance, with specific days scheduled MONTHS in advance, the oft-advertised (and still present as a page on the site) "event cinema" often being slotted in those advance days, to only three days being scheduled at time of writing, including today. On those three days, only the same two films are being shown, both Bollywood, so in reality, only TWO films are on the schedule. This isn't even going over the front page which is a complete joke, with "Happening This Week" just saying 'temporarily closed, check our banner', and then the banner is just two Bollywood films that were being shown months ago.

Compare this to the Princess, who have never been good with their site and schedule to be frank, only recently has the site gotten out of 2010, but their July schedule is almost entirely filled up with a variety of films from new, to old, black and white, independent, local, event cinema, they are maintaining their promise in their own description.

This irony is played out all over the site as well. The current Apollo would never show any of the movies that are referenced in its merchandise. The membership is a joke, there likely are no more member-only screenings and I have received ZERO newsletters about special events and programming which one would get a discount for with the membership.

It's just sad. The person who owns this theatre has no real interest in film as an artform or anything, this is just a very shallow attempt to license out low-cost films and cater to a particular audience, bucking what had kept Apollo alive for a decade in the first place. I will not cry any crocodile tears when the Apollo inevitably dies off, and I'm sure nobody else will either.

I might have had more respect had this genuinely seemed like an effort to, I dunno, make Bollywood more accessible to South Indian KW citizens, but it isn't that. There is no respect for Bollywood on their site, because of what I just described. There are no events, special programming, the schedule is only showing two days in advance, the banner is months out of date. There is no passion here, nobody is winning with this change, it's a tasteless rebrand to prey on a potential type...

I just recently came to the Apollo Cinema for the SteveO (late show 10PM) on April 5th.

PROS:

The venue had very comfortable seats and there was a great view from anywhere in the venue!

Merch pricing was very reasonable. Usually pricing is very expensive at comedy shows or concerts because the venues will also want to take a cut. This shows that Apollo is very fair! Tour Hoodie was $60, 2 Signed Book Bundle (1 Hardcover and 1 Softcover) for $45, 2 Drink Koozie Covers $10, 2 Signed Prints $40

Queue was inside! We are able to stay warm before the show and not have to freeze in the cold!

General Admission Seating in a seated theatre!! This initially was a con but it was honestly such a cool experience I loved it! We showed up 8:35PM (doors: 9PM, show 10PM) and we got the last 2 seats on the front row and had an amazing time. SteveO walked in for the intro of the show right beside my dad because he had the aisle seat!

We were able to get out of the venue within 5 minutes and my dad was even able to meet SteveO before he got to his tour bus!

CONS:

No VIP tickets available but this isn't the venues fault.

Merch table was difficult to navigate. Enter and Exit signs were made with pieces of paper with sharpie. Lighting was very minimal around the table and it was very difficult to see the pricing. There was no large sign with the prices or a large list. There was a small piece of paper with the merch pricing and there was no arrow or anybody letting you know where the pricing was. Overall, we had a wonderful time and we will definantly be back to the...