At its peak, the Toronto International Film Festival has welcomed 480,000 moviegoers per year — 24 times the capacity of Madison Square Garden. And, in another step toward normalcy for the film world, massive crowds are expected in Canada when TIFF opens on Sept. 8. It hasn’t been an easy road back for a festival that went virtual in 2020 and, last year, returned in a pared-down form without splashy premieres or very many A-list stars.
Since then, the movies have steadily rebounded, with box office smashes from franchises like “Top Gun,” “Doctor Strange” and “Jurassic World.” Toronto’s organizers, and the studios premiering projects there, can only hope prestige projects will follow suit. TIFF, which draws visitors from more than 80 countries, has long been an Oscar-season launching pad. And…
