Sometimes, unexpectedly good news comes from nowhere. So it has proved with the happy tidings that the Prince Charles Cinema in Leicester Square has been saved. After a long and uncertain 21-month period in which it looked as if the cinema’s lease might be prematurely curtailed or simply ended altogether, the company has signed a new 25-year lease, sans break clause, with Zedwell PSQ Ltd, the building’s owner.

This brings to a welcome end the uncertainty that began in January 2025, when the lease, which was due to expire last September, looked as if it might not be renewed on its present terms. The landlords attempted to introduce a six-month break clause that could be exercised at any time. The belief among many cineastes was that Zedwell, which has been building large, moderately priced hotels all over London – including a pod hotel behind the old Trocadero in Piccadilly – might have wanted to turn the Prince Charles into further accommodation.

What it offers is a truly joyful communal experience

What it offers is a truly joyful communal experience

Legally, they would have had every right to do so. But this would have had the unfortunate effect of closing the only decent repertory cinema in the West End, a place that is dear to the hearts of everyone from A-list filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino and Paul Thomas Anderson, to ordinary punters. None other than Sir Christopher Nolan said that ‘Film culture in Great Britain is unthinkable without the Prince Charles.’ And, of course, there........

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