The Apollo vs The Princess in K-W indie theatres

Students living in Kitchener-Waterloo are absolutely spoiled with things to do for fun. Between the nightclubs up and down King street, two big, beautiful parks and much more, no one should ever feel like there’s an empty day in K-W. Film fans in particular have a myriad of places to spend their spare time.

Conestoga Mall, Fairview Park and The Boardwalk all have multi-screen theatres for students to catch new releases. However these big chains can often leave locally-owned options forgotten, and with both the Princess Cinema and the Apollo available, students shouldn’t limit themselves to just the big studio releases.

The Princess Twin, located in the heart of uptown Waterloo, and the original Princess Cinema located just east of there on Princess Street offer a retro movie-going experience. Even with a digital projection system, everything from the box office to the seats to the programming make the three screens at the Princess feel like a blast from the past.

“When I think of the Princess, I think of nostalgia,” said Wilfrid Laurier University alumna and former Princess employee Sarah McBain. “One of my favourite experiences during my education at Laurier was going to the annual Rocky Horror Picture Show. Dressing up and playing along to the film was always a blast.”

That’s one of the huge benefits to the Princess Cinemas according to McBain.

“I love when they show the classics and knowing that I can watch almost all of the Oscar-worthy films of the year.”

The Princess shows all of the big Oscar contenders each year and makes even the big studio releases available right around Oscar time.

On the other hand, The Apollo, located in downtown Kitchener, is trying to compete with the big multiplex theatres by playing their own game.

“We rival the big chain theatres with our new sound system and screen size, not to mention we’re capable of 3-D, while other smaller theatres are not,” said Laurier film student and Apollo employee Aaron Miller.

They also offer an experience you arguably can’t get at any other theatre in town.

“We are fully licensed and sell wine, ciders and a variety of local craft beers such as Block 3, Innocente and Abe Erb,” said Miller.

A word of advice concerning alcohol — the Apollo has some of the most comfortable seats around and more legroom than you’ll ever see in a movie theatre, so be patient with your brew as to not get drowsy during the movie.

Both of these theatres have a lot to offer outside of the big multiplexes in town, including a great selection of movies offering optimal comfort. Give these theatres your support to maintain two great local businesses.