The future of Canada’s oldest operating cinema and a landmark cultural institution in Toronto is at risk over ongoing tensions with the landlord who owns the building, according to the non-profit that runs the theatre.
The Revue Film Society, which runs the 112-year-old Revue Cinema on Roncesvalles Avenue, says the landlord unexpectedly informed its board this week that he would not extend their lease, which is set to expire on June 30.
The board and the landlord, 96-year-old real estate investor Danny Mullin, had been in verbal negotiations for months and seemed set to reach an agreement, according to board chair Grant Oyston.
“He had indicated up until Wednesday that he would be renewing the lease, so as a result we have staff booked, we have films booked, we have tickets sold for the months ahead,” Oyston said.
The non-profit has operated the single-screen cinema for the last 17 years, after Mullin initially purchased the building in 2006. They have been the sole tenant over that period, and poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into renovations and maintenance, Oyston said.
Board seeking injunction
The board said it will seek an emergency court injunction Friday in a bid to have the lease extended.
“To be clear: our position is that the eviction is not legal and we have right to stay based on [Mullin’s] past verbal commitments, and the terms regarding renewal options in our current lease,” Oyston said.
A beloved Toronto theatre, operating for more than 100 years in Roncesvalles, is facing sudden closure. As CBC’s Vanessa Balintec reports, it’s all because of a lease dispute between Revue Cinema’s board of directors and its landlords.
Oyston acknowledged the board and Mullin have had “ups and downs” over the years, but said he believes it has become “personal” for Mullin.
For his part, Mullin told CBC Toronto he doesn’t want to shut down the theatre, but instead bring it under his own private ownership, citing disagreements with the board over how the cinema is managed.
Mullin said the board has prevented him from doing certain renovations and failed to operate the business appropriately. He also said items like vintage posters and seats have been removed from the cinema without his knowledge.
Mullin said he would never sell the building, despite offers from interested buyers, but added he cannot go on dealing with the board.
“The board has to go,” he said.
A storied history
The Revue opened in 1911 and initially screened silent films. Oyston said its closure would be a crushing blow to both the cultural vibrancy of Toronto’s west end and Canada’s independent film scene.
“It’s devastating. It’s been a tough summer for the city with the loss of a number of major cultural institutions and places folks have a lot of nostalgia for. This is a place that people’s grandparents went, and people’s great-grandparents went, and people’s great-great-grandparents went,” he said.
“There was a time when there were 50 or 60 cinemas like the Revue scattered across the city and now you can count one hand how many of them remain. The rest are now condos or Shoppers Drug Marts or Dollaramas and it would be an absolutely devastating loss not just for the community that likes films, but also the Canadian film industry.”
He noted the Revue is one of the only high-profile venues showcasing independent, Indigenous and LGBT films to large audiences.
The board is also reaching out to local city councillors, MPPs and MPs to see if there is anything various levels of government could do to help ensure the Revue stays open.
Concession worker Chloe Legault said she hopes some kind of deal can be reached to save a Toronto cultural cornerstone, especially in the wake of the closures of Ontario Place and the Ontario Science Centre.
“What’s the point of having a city like Toronto, full of people who love things like cinema and outdoor space, if you can’t have a place to come together and enjoy it?” she asked.