Prince Charles Cinema
7 Leicester Place,
London,
WC2 7BY
7 Leicester Place,
London,
WC2 7BY
10 people
favorited this theater
Related Websites
Prince Charles Cinema (Official)
Additional Info
Previously operated by: Cannon Cinemas, Robins Cinemas, Star Cinemas
Architects: Carlo S. Biskupek
Firms: Carl Fisher and Associates
Functions: Movies (Classic), Movies (Film Festivals), Movies (Revival), Movies (Second Run)
Previous Names: Prince Charles Theatre, Cannon Prince Charles
Phone Numbers:
Box Office:
44207.494.3654
Nearby Theaters
The Prince Charles Theatre was designed by Carl Fisher & Associates with 358 seats all on one level. It started life as a live theatre on 26th December 1962 with a transfer from the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith of a Canadian revue “Clap Hands”.
Some film use alternated with live theatre beginning in 1964 with screenings of “Tartuffe”, but as a live theatre it was not a success, and it became a full time cinema from 30th May 1965 and on 4th July 1965 it was taken over by the Leeds based Star Cinemas chain and the seating capacity was increased to 414. Success still was not achieved, due to dreadful sight-lines, so it closed in 1968 for a complete internal reconstruction to the design of architect Carlo S. Biskupek, and interior design by Harold Bartram. The stage was removed and the new auditorium was increased in size from 414 to 631 seats in stalls and circle levels. It re-opened on 21st January 1969 with the UK Premiere of Pierre Clementi in “Benjamin”, and became the West End showcase of the Star Cinemas chain.
In 1985 the Cannon Group took over Star Cinemas and it was renamed Cannon Prince Charles. It was refurbished in 1986. On 26th April 1991 it was taken over by the Robins Cinemas chain and the Prince Charles Cinema finally found its niche as a repertory cinema, playing recent hit films, revivals, foreign language and cult hits, at greatly reduced prices on admission and concessions for the West End, where prices are premium.
During November 2008, work was commenced to convert the Prince Charles Cinema into a twin-screen cinema. The former circle has been separated from the former stalls by a drop-wall. Films are shown in the former stalls on the original, large screen, from a projection box located in an area that was formerly the front of the circle. This projection box is behind the screen of the former circle screen, which continues to use the original projection box. Work was carried out overnight and during the mornings and early afternoons, with regular screenings continuing in the stalls screen during the evenings. The twin screen cinema opened in December 2008 with seating for 302 in the former stalls which has a screen measuring 21.5 feet wide by 11.5 feet high, and a 104 seat screen in the former circle. The Prince Charles Cinema has retained its film projectors, and has regular screenings of 70mm prints as well as 35mm and digital presentations. Sometime in late-2021/early-2022 the vertical name sign on the front of the cinema was removed.
On 28th January 2025 it was announced that the landlord had notified the cinema that the lease rental was going to be increased and was non-negotiable. Also extra clauses were going to be placed on the lease making the cinema unable to accept the notification and face possible closure. It was also announced that the landlord planned to demolish the cinema and build a hotel on the site. Within the first 48 hours after the news broke an online petition had attracted over 15,000 signatures and coverage had been seen on TV news channels.
Contributed by
Ian Grundy
Want to be emailed when a new comment is posted about this theater?
Just login to your account and subscribe to this theater.
Recent comments (view all 38 comments)
Indeed Howard, these 2 films are ideal for a visitor. I too enjoy films showing London because I particularly love the city. By the way, the Eros cinema shown in “Werewolf” is featured on this site has an extensive photo album on Flicker here : Eros Piccadilly
I wish I could have been old enough to see a film there when the cinema still existed. Never been to a porno cinema in my life, but because of all this nostalgia we have now, This is some kind of an experiment I regret not having. “Death Line” is great too, I saw it a few times and once again recently. This is a very unusual and good film with great scenes of underground stations.
Speaking of nostalgia, I believe we should enjoy what we experience as if it were the last time, but how can we guess in advance that it is something special ? For example, it seemed so common to me to see the restoration of Lawrence of Arabia in 70mm at the Odeon Marble Arch in the summer of 1989. A very exciting memory. I was just 19 years old. Today, almost 30 years later, I realised that what looked like a rather common experience was actually a privilege for few people. When I now tell the young generation about this, they look at me as if I were a war veteran – “Wow, you were there!”. We didn’t realise back then how spoiled we were to have all this. And today we can only mourn the deceased… ;–)
https://tinyurl.com/y4q4yjkr TIme Out’s annual love letter to London cinemas including of course the Prince Charles
A banner year of programming for the Prince Charles including To Live and Die in LA with a live Q&A with William Friedkin (I ended up sitting next to Sherry Lansing), Robert Altman’s The Last Goodbye…am there again soon for Springsteen Western Stars
Lionel: The flickr account holder “dusashenka” (your Eros Piccadilly link is to an album of that user) certainly does have an amazing and large collection of photos, and I’ve certainly enjoyed browsing through them! ;–)
I still get “goosebumps” in anticipation of seeing a presentation of a first class movie in a first class venue. I don’t think I ever took it for granted—as long as I’ve been old enough to go to the cinema unaccompanied, it was obvious that the largest auditoria were on “borrowed time.”
Less obvious were the coming changes to auditorium design, and, the move to digital photography and projection.
(In the former case, digital cameras, I remember suggesting to someone in the late 90s—that they would NEVER be good enough to match 35mm…!)
Even if we might not consider all the changes to be welcome, I don’t think it is necessary to get too nostaglic. This is an amazing time—ranging from dual 4K laser projection to the “immersive” sound formats to the latest 65mm sensor cameras from Arri, Panavision and Sony.
Select classic titles are getting digital re-releases with new full restorations from the original negatives, in some cases yielding far better quality than would ever have been seen from a release print. For example, just a couple of months ago “Apocalypse Now”—with a Q&A shown after the film.
I do hope you are seeking out the best cinemas in your neck of the woods and enjoy visiting them.
A photo montage of the Prince Charles cinema when still a single-screen. Showing the projection booth with close-up shots of the DP75 projectors, and the auditorium from the back of the circle.
Grand opening ad posted.
After a Pandemic pause, I revisited London last month & enjoyed 2 movies at the Prince Charles, in the main theater, a 35mm print of “Badlands” (1973) and “The Lighthouse” (2019). I really enjoy this theater and the immaculate presentations with proper use of the curtain, masking, projection, and surround sound. What happened to the vertical sign? Online, it seems to have been there in the last year, but now gone. Why?
So many great times there even just in the past year - Nashville, The Thing, Hard Eight, Spartacus, A Woman Under the Influence, Stop Making Sense, Le Samourai
Now the landlords want to review the lease please everyone signe the petition to Save the PCC
https://you.38degrees.org.uk/petitions/save-the-prince-charles-cinema
Petition signed. Let’s hope the PCC will not know the same fate as the Minema and others. Only saw one film there: The Last Emperor in 70mm almost 40 years ago.
I, too, have signed the petition.
I suspect, however, that the “end game” of this is a replacement building with basement auditoria.
The ultimate parent company of the landlord (Criterion Capital) have a track record which speaks for itself, and surely doesn’t include an interest in cultural capital of a slightly quirky and offbeat nature. (They own the Trocadero and 1-3 Leicester Square, the latter of which contains what is now the 4DX auditorium of Cineworld Leicester Square at basement levels.)
I think what PCC very likely have in mind, therefore, is applying pressure on Westminster Council to insist upon a replacement cinema as a condition of any planning permission for a replacement building. Possibly, too, keeping the PCC open for the longest possible period until building work starts, which won’t be soon. (Come to think of it, Criterion also have been known to stretch out the duration to project completion: see their Trocadero redevelopment, which alas doesn’t bode well for business continuity of a single site cinema operator.)
The “downstairs screen” is one of the last bastions of 1960’s-era cinema auditoria design and offers very high quality projection and sound. The 4K NEC digital projection installed is suitable for a “PLF” auditorium and is “over-specified” for the modest screen size. However, sightlines can be poor and the downstairs foyer is not fit for purpose. Despite this, it’s still a great place to watch a film. Tabs and masking certainly were in use on a recent visit!