Criterion is coming to Canada with the help of a Toronto video store

Criterion, one of the world's leading collections of movies, is gearing up to plant roots in Canada for the first time with the help of a Toronto video store next month.

If you listen closely, you can almost hear Toronto Cinephiles cry out in a mix of joy and anguish over their soon-to-deteriorate disposable income, as Criterion confirms it's partnering with a new brick-and-mortar store in the cinematic heart of the city.

Now's the chance to live your very own Criterion Closet video.

For the shop, Criterion is joining forces with independent local home video retailer Cinema Cellar, and together, they'll boast a selection of physical film media, including Blu-ray, DVD and 4K UHD from Criterion's catalogue and a handful of other film labels.

Fittingly, the store's opening is slated to coincide with TIFF's opening night on Thursday, Sep. 10, and the shop itself is situated right in the centre of the action.

Located at 129 John St., Criterion is perfectly positioned at the apex of the city's cinema culture, just a stone's throw away from Scotiabank Theatre and the TIFF Lightbox and from Sep. 10 through 20, all of the TIFF action.

As it happens, the Toronto International Film Festival actually played a decisive role in Criterion's decision to set down roots not only in Canada, but Toronto specifically.

In 2025, the Criterion Mobile Closet made its first-ever international appearance at TIFF to overwhelming success. It drew over 1000 visitors on opening weekend alone and, more importantly, showed Criterion that, should it make a more permanent move north of the border, it would be welcomed with open arms.

"Canada has always been an important part of Criterion's community, and Cinema Cellar is our way of making that concrete — a meaningful and lasting place, not just a presence, and not just for the festival," says Anne Kawalerski, Criterion's Chief Marketing Officer.

"TIFF is one of the great film moments in the world, and we wanted to show up in a way that reflects what Criterion is — a place to discover, to be transported, and to belong to something. We hope people find films they love here, and find each other."

As Toronto residents gear up to attend movie premieres and screenings galore during TIFF's ten-day run, Criterion and Cinema Cellar just gave us one extra reason to host our movie viewing from the comfort of our own homes: no streaming service needed.