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Petition to Save London's Prince Charles Cinema Passes 125,000 Signatures

The Prince Charles cinema, a London independent cinema which frequently screens anime films, is currently asking people to sign a petition to protect it from landlords' demands which, the cinema says, threaten it with closure. As of writing, the petition has received more than 125,000 signatures out of a target 200,000.

Located just off Leicester Square, the Prince Charles cinema has regularly shown anime films over the years, especially Studio Ghibli titles, Satoshi Kon films, and Akira and Ghost in the Shell. It has also screened some films presented by the hosts of the Ghibliotheque podcasts, including Memories, The Animatrix and Jin-Roh - The Wolf Brigade.

The Prince Charles Cinema is the last independent repertory cinema operating in London's West End. It screens a wide range of films from around the world, as well as numerous special events such as themed all-night movie marathons.

On its website, the cinema says that it is thriving, and has had record attendance for two years in a row. However, it makes the following claims:

"Whilst the [cinema's] lease is due to expire in Sept 2025, as it is within the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 (the Act), we are legally entitled to a new lease. We have applied to the court for a new lease of a minimum of 15 years at the going market rent and on similar terms to our existing lease.

"The landlord, however, has responded to our claim seeking to include a redevelopment break clause (among other terms) in the new lease that would entitle them to terminate the lease at 6 months' notice at any time once the new lease has commenced.

"This would mean that the future of the cinema would be under permanent threat of closure. Our lawyers have advised that we can argue against the court ordering such a redevelopment break clause."

The Prince Charles cinema also claims that its landlords, Zedwell LSQ Ltd and its parent company, Criterion Capital, is "demanding a rent far above market rates... and refusing to supply any information to back this up."

The cinema accuses the landlords of using intimidation tactics. According to a BBC report on the situation, this has been denied by Criterion Capital, which says that a break clause is standard commercial practice, reflecting long-term property planning, not unreasonable intent, and that its rental expectations were based on a fair market assessment.