An iconic cinema beloved by Quentin Tarantino has been threatened with closure by its ‘bully’ billionaire landlord amid a bitter row over lease renewal.
The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square has warned its future is at ‘serious risk and accused its West End landlord of ‘intimidation’ tactics.
The independent cinema claims its landlord, controlled by ultra-wealthy developer Asif Aziz, is demanding a rent increase ‘significantly above market rates’.
Staff allege it is an attempt to ‘bully’ them out of the building once their lease ends in September 2025, in order to shut the cinema and redevelop the property as a hotel.
The cinema is a favourite of legendary Pulp Fiction director Quentin Tarantino, who once described it as a ‘Mecca for lovers of quality films’.
John Waters, the writer and director of Hairspray, called it ‘the most depraved and beautiful movie theatre in London‘.
Libertines hellraiser Pete Doherty worked there in 1999 and wrote in his diary that he was ‘quite charmed by the place’ despite staff being ‘a tad aloof’.
But its future is uncertain after the landlord ‘demanded’ a break clause in the new lease, stipulating the cinema would have six months to find another site should they gain planning permission to redevelop it.
The marquee at Prince Charles Cinema in West End displays a tribute to David Lynch when the filmmaker died on January 15 last year
The staff are ‘beyond disappointed’ in the cinema’s landlord Zedwell LSQ and parent company Criterion Capital – owned by billionaire developer Asif Aziz (pictured 2017)
A young man outside The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square, where the controversial ‘X’ rated film, ‘Last Tango In Paris’ was shown in February 1973
The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square with a Merry Christmas sign in 2019
The iconic Leicester Square cinema is beloved by Quentin Tarantino (pictured during the 2024 Tribeca Festival in New York)
Cinema bosses, who have launched a petition to save the cinema, said this represented a ‘clear intention’ from the owners wanting to redevelop it.
Management accused the landlord of ‘demanding a rent far above market rates, at a level which no cinema proprietor would consider reasonable’.
It said: ‘At a time when cinemas continue to close throughout the world, we are happy to buck the trend with a variety of films that is unmatched anywhere else.’
‘We believe that these tactics amount to an attempt by Criterion Capital and its subsidiaries to use their significant financial resources to intimidate us, regardless of our legal entitlement,’ the website reads.
‘We will be raising legal proceedings to contest their valuation of the lease in the strongest possible terms.
‘We are confident that in doing so we will be allowed to renew at market rate, but we urge them to come to the table and settle on reasonable terms without the need for a protracted legal process.’
The Prince Charles Cinema was opened in 1962 as a live theatre before becoming a cinema in the mid-sixties.
Last year, it ditched a private screening of The Last Screenwriter – which was entirely written using ChatGPT – following a public backlash.
But it has been praised by celebrities and those in the film business over the years, including Saltburn director Emerald Fennell.
People walk past a heatwave themed marquee sign at the Prince Charles Cinema in central London in 2022
During COVID, the cinema displayed a series of signs while the country entered into various lockdowns. Pictured in 2020
A sign at the Prince Charles Cinema reading ‘We’ll be Back’ during the first Saturday night in London after the government lockdown announcement in 2020
The sign read ‘Mamma Mia, Here we go Again’ during England’s third national lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus
People queue around the bend for the first showing of Caligula at the cinema in 1980
The Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square during its construction in December 1962
A sign of the Prince Charles Cinema next to some hanging Chinese lanterns
Gary Lineker showed up for the premiere of ‘Kicking Off’ in 2016 and director Paul Thomas Anderson visited while shooting Phantom Thread in 2017.
Tarantino is said to have ‘loved’ the cinema’s coffee, said in an interview on a DVD extra: ‘The day that Kill Bill plays at the Princes Charles will be the day that truly comes home’.
Other celebrities spotted there include Peter Dinklage, Woody Harrelson, Margot Robbie, Uma Thurman, and Kevin Smith. Andrew Garfield also once brought the staff cake.
Ben Freedman, Managing Director of The Prince Charles Cinema, said: ‘Under our stewardship, the cinema has become known for its unique range of programming and a home for anyone that loves experiencing films the best way possible. With other people, in the dark, in the cinema.
‘At the heart of our success is an experienced team that is continuously focused on running an independent cinema that can thrive in the future in a very difficult marketplace. This means we can’t stand still and have a list of venue improvements in place once we obtain the security of a lease extension.
‘These plans would protect and improve the building’s features and capacity to present the widest variety of films seen anywhere in the world, while retaining the two screens and seating capacity of 404, meaning the cinema will continue to be open to the community.
‘However, by refusing to come to the table and negotiate a new lease for the venue as well as demanding a redevelopment clause, the landlord has made it abundantly clear they are not interested in seeing The Prince Charles Cinema continue to thrive.
‘In simple terms, if the Landlord decides to redevelop the site, The Prince Charles Cinema will be lost forever.’
A spokesman for Criterion Capital said: ‘Bubble Chamber Limited has initiated lease renewal proceedings on Prince Charles Cinema and the landlord has responded in accordance with Landlord and Tenant Act 1954.’
Criterion is the largest landowner in the Piccadilly Circus–Leicester Square corridor, owning and operating over 50 buildings in iconic London locations, including Mayfair, St. James’s, Park Lane, and Knightsbridge.
It specialises in converting obsolete buildings into affordable residential apartments and lifestyle hotels.
Last year, The Prince Charles showed 858 different films selling over 250,000 tickets.
