Injunction halting eviction of Revue Cinema extended to Oct. 30

Toronto's historic Revue Cinema has been granted an extension order halting its eviction, the cinema's operator says.

The Revue Film Society, a non-profit organization that runs the 112-year-old cinema on Roncesvalles Avenue, said in a news release Friday that the injunction halting their eviction has been extended to Oct. 30 when the court is expected to make a final determination.

"We are so grateful for the outpouring of community support over the past week," said Grant Oyston, chair of the Revue Film Society.

"It's clear that the community cares deeply about the Revue Cinema, and overwhelmingly wants it to remain in the community, operated as a non-profit organization, with the wonderful staff and programmers we have today."

The theatre is at risk over ongoing tensions with its landlord, Daniel Mullin.

The society said Mullin unexpectedly informed its board last week that he would not extend its lease, following its expiration on June 30. The theatre is a landmark cultural institution in Toronto.

Toronto City Council plans to designate the theatre's building as a heritage site to protect it, Mayor Olivia Chow said on Saturday. The front facade of the theatre was given historical designation in 2006, according to the Revue's website.

WATCH | A historic Toronto cinema could close its doors:

Toronto's historic Revue Cinema facing closure

4 months ago

Duration 2:28

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 says the initial court order was granted on June 28, preventing the landlord, Daniel Mullin, from interfering with the society's operations until trial.

The society's board and the landlord had been in verbal negotiations for months and seemed set to reach an agreement, according to Oyston.

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.

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.

Oyston said Revue is one of the only high-profile venues showcasing independent, Indigenous and 2SLGBTQ+films to large audiences.

Ideally, the theatre would like to reach a negotiated solution with Mullin, said the society's treasurer, Marc Priestly. "We really don't want this to get into a legal dispute," he said.

Though Mullin has said he is interested in running the cinema without the society's board, Priestly said this was unlikely.

The Revue's staff and programmers have publicly and independently stated that they would not work for a for-profit version of the cinema, he said.

As well, the board owns many of the cinema's assets, he said, including the projector, ticketing systems and social media accounts.

Oscar-winning director posts support

Oscar-winning filmmakerGuillermo del Toro urged Mayor Olivia Chow to help save the cinema on a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Thursday.

"Can you help save the REVUE, one of Canada's most beloved, non-profit, cultural landmarks?" he wrote, tagging the mayor and posting a link to a petition, that has more than20,000 signatures. "If not you, WHO can help? or HOW can I help?"

Several of del Toro's films have been filmed in Toronto, including Academy Award Best Picture winnerThe Shape of Water and the upcoming Netflix movie Frankenstein.

Of the director's support, Priestly said it's "amazing and heartening to see that people of that caliber care about the programming we do and about how vitally important the Revue is to Toronto."