London's Prince Charles Cinema wins 25-year lease with no break clause after landlord battle

The Prince Charles Cinema in London's West End has secured its long-term future by agreeing a 25-year lease containing no break clause, drawing a line under 21 months of uncertainty that began when landlord Criterion Capital sought to include a break clause that would have given the venue as little as six months' notice to vacate. Over 168,000 people signed a petition in support of the cinema, and Westminster Council's designation of it as an Asset of Community Value bolstered its legal standing.

Criterion Capital had also sought rent "at a level which no cinema proprietor would consider reasonable", the cinema alleged.

Quentin Tarantino, Danny Boyle, Christopher Nolan and Paul Mescal were among those who publicly supported the campaign, with Boyle warning that the cinema's closure would be London's "little death".

"After 21 months of uncertainty, we're delighted to have secured the future of the cinema," the Prince Charles said in a statement Thursday.