Prince Charles Cinema, a near-mythical haunt for London’s cinephiles, is teetering on the edge of displacement.
Tucked behind Leicester Square for over three decades, the venue has been an antidote to the algorithmic monotony of mainstream cinema, where cult classics, all-night marathons, and the oddball brilliance of The Room coexist under one flickering roof.
But now, with landlord Zedwell LSQ Ltd, a child company of Criterion Capital, leveraging legal means to move them out, the future of this cultural landmark looks increasingly uncertain.
The building, with its distinctive 1960s satellite-dish façade, has lived many lives, from showing soft-core films during Soho’s sex-shop boom to becoming a cornerstone of London’s cultural fabric.
Over the decades, it has evolved into a space where independent film culture and devoted audiences have found a rare foothold in the heart of the city, one put at risk by the cinema's recent struggles.
And Prince Charles Cinema (PCC) is no mere tourist stop for Harry Potter pilgrims seeking respite from the rain or an alternative to popping into a shop across the street for overpriced tea.
It has its own celebrity champions, its own history, its own smell of spilt popcorn and decades-old carpet glue.
Under the rallying cry Save The PCC, the fight continues, not just to preserve a cinema, but to protect the idea that London can still make space for the uncommercial, the unruly, the cult.
Earlier this summer, a glimmer of hope appeared.
Rumours swirled of a relocation to Stratford, with the former Picturehouse site chosen as a potential new home.
For a brief moment, it felt like the Prince Charles Cinema might pull off a plot twist of its own: a resurrection story scripted for those loyal enough to show up in pyjamas, with duvets in tow, ready to spend eight hours locked in with Lynchian nightmares or Wim Wenders’ soft-edged nostalgia.
But that plotline has started to unravel.
“Sadly, it looks very unlikely that we will be coming to Stratford after all,” said Gregory H A Lynn, who runs the Prince Charles Cinema.
“On the day of the Guardian piece notifying of our bid… the council’s appointed surveyor informed us they had an offer from a non-cinema-related company. As it was worth more than our offer to keep the site as a cinema, the council are likely to conclude terms with them.”
The Prince Charles Cinema has 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.
Meanwhile, the venue remains what it has always been: stubbornly alive, defiantly nostalgic.
Weekly screenings of Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love still pack out the seats, now worn to the contours of thousands of restless bodies.
Studio Ghibli’s My Neighbour Totoro and Ponyo wander across the screen for a new generation of cult viewers, as campaigns to have the cinema listed as an Asset of Community Value gain momentum.
Whether the venue stays in Soho, relocates east, or is forced to haunt another postcode entirely, the question is no longer just about bricks and mortar. It’s about whether the community follows from central London to its outskirts.
Regarding a potential move, the PCC is willing to go all-in.
“We had given a firm commitment to spend in excess of half a million pounds to refurbish the building before opening, as we were very committed to the venture,” Lynn added.
“As yet, we have heard nothing formally from the council about agreeing terms, which is a shame as we hoped to have the venue open again for Christmas.”
For now, the lights continuously dim, the projectors hum, and the city waits to see if the credits will roll on one of its last great independent screens.