London’s Prince Charles Cinema “under serious threat” due to dispute with landlord
The Prince Charles Cinema, situated in the heart of London‘s West End, is fighting for its future due to a dispute with its landlords, Criterion Capital.
The London picture house first opened its doors in 1962 and is a beloved cultural institution adored by film fans, as well as directors such as Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson. Anderson once said of the cinema: “The Prince Charles has a place in my heart. It’s the people, the programming, the accessibility, feeling, texture… you cannot go wrong.”
Currently, the Prince Charles Cinema is in the process of arranging a new lease with its landlords, Zedwell LSQ Ltd and Zedwell’s parent company, Criterion Capital. Their current agreement is set to come to an end in September, 2025.
In a new Instagram post, the Leicester Square cinema says it is “beyond disappointed” with the landlords, who have “demanded the inclusion of a break clause in our new lease.”
They state of the amendment to the lease: “This could leave us homeless with only 6 months’ notice should they receive planning permission to redevelop the cinema.”
The London cinema continued: “Losing The Prince Charles Cinema would mean losing not just an iconic cultural institution, but also an engine for the economy of the West End that brings people from all over London and the surrounding area to watch films, shop and eat and drink. This would have repercussions way beyond the building itself.”
They also said of their cultural value: “The Prince Charles Cinema was opened in 1962 as a live theatre before becoming a cinema in the mid-sixties. Under our stewardship, the cinema, which receives no public subsidy, has become known for its unique range of programming spanning the history of cinema. At a time when cinemas continue to close throughout the world, we are happy to buck the trend with our thriving and fiercely independent offer.”
The Prince Charles Cinema concluded: “We feel that this demand amounts to a clear attempt by Zedwell LSQ Ltd and their ultimate parent company Criterion Capital, to use their significant financial resources to disregard our legal entitlement to a new lease and bully us out of the building once the existing one ends in Sept 2025.”
The petition has already racked up thousands of signatures within less than an hour of being shared by the Prince Charles Cinema.
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