Prince Charles Cinema might open second venue in London

The cult cinema, known for screening old and current films as well as sing-alongs and all-nighters, has long been at odds with Asif Aziz’s Criterion Capital, its landlord.

In January, the PCC launched a petition to generate support for its future after Criterion demanded the inclusion of a break clause within its new lease.

“This could leave us homeless with only six months’ notice should they receive planning permission to redevelop the cinema,” managing director Ben Freedman said within the petition, which has now been signed more than 165,000 times.

It was reported on Monday that the PCC’s management were looking at taking over another London site, but have stressed that this will not be the end of Leicester Square cinema, which has been in operation since the mid 1960s.

Paul Vickery, the cinema’s head of programming, said: “Given what’s happened this year, I understand how it could look like we’re trying to shift operations but that’s not what’s happening.

“We were looking for a pre-existing venue that needed a bit of love which we could turn into a new site. Ideally, we’d want to go on to add a third or fourth space.”

Where the Prince Charles Cinema might open a second venue

The PCC’s management have put in a bid to take over the former Stratford Picturehouse in east London, the venue having closed last year.

The Prince Charles Cinema East, as it may be known, would join the V&A and Soho Theatre Walthamstow in forming a base in the capital’s eastern side.

“Stratford has always been a hub,” Mr Vickery.

“There are plenty of students and loads of new-build properties that have sprung up recently. But it also feels like it’s still trying to find its feet and figure out what it is.”