A longtime South Bay theater's future is in doubt as it tries to manage a rent hike and a slumping movie industry.
Pruneyard Cinemas in Campbell is struggling to make ends meet.
"Without getting modest concessions from our landlord, we're struggling and looking at the long-term viability and saying 'help us out,' get us to a market rate lease like other cinema owners have done throughout the U.S.," said Dan Orloff, who is part of the Pruneyard Cinemas management team.
The one-two punch of the pandemic and a rent increase have left the cinema reeling. It is now trying to get a rent cut and reaching out to the city for help.
"It's privately owned, and businesses have the ability to decide what to do," Campbell Vice Mayor Sergio Lopez said. "I'll just say as a resident, I would really hope that there's good faith just talking and listening on both sides."
Pruneyard Cinemas management said their revenue is now back to about 80% of what it was pre-pandemic, which is not bad for a movie theater. But the recent rent increases means the gap between what the cinema is making and what it has to pay is the problem.
The theater has also launched a Change.org petition to rally support.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
