Opening in 1912, Revue Cinema has been a landmark of the Roncesvalles area of Toronto for over 100 years, making it the city’s longest-standing movie house. However, back in June, it looked as if the beloved revival house would be forced to shutter following a lease dispute between Revue Film Society, the non-profit that operates the theater, and the building’s longtime landlords, Daniel and Leticia Mullin. After refusing to extend the theater’s lease another five years as they had in the past, the Mullins informed the board of the non-profit that they personally would be taking control of Revue. Acting quickly the Society were able to win an interim court injunction allowing them to continue running the theater until the matter could be handled before a judge at a later date in October.
However, before the case made its way through the legal system, the Society and the Mullins were able to cool tensions and reach a new lease agreement that will allow the non-profit to continue programming for the theater for another five years. In a post shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, Revue Cinema wrote of the resolution, “The Revue Film Society and building owners Danny and Letty Mullin are pleased to announce the signing of a new lease agreement, marking a significant milestone in their long-standing partnership. The Mullins and the Revue Film Society extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who supported the Revue, and we look forward to many more years of cinematic magic together.”
Speaking to the Toronto Star, Grant Oysten, Chair of the Revue Film Society, said, “We’re so grateful for the continued support of the building’s owners, Danny and Letty Mullin, without whom none of this would be possible. And to John Tory, who was incredibly generous with his time. His support as a mediator was invaluable in helping us get to a resolution that we’re all thrilled about.”
The issue between Revue Film Society and the Mullins came about last year when negotiations for a new lease stalled for months. When they were unable to come to an agreement by the expiration of the current lease on June 30, the Mullins informed the board of the non-profit that they would start operating the theater without them, prompting the Society to engage in legal measures.
Speaking to CTV News Toronto at the time, Daniel Mullin said, “We want to get rid of the board, bring it back to private sector. It’s very simple. Why do we need the board? They’ve never done nothing. Every time we sign a new lease, they never fulfill the lease. They’re supposed to do work, do the seats; they never do nothing.”
Denying this claim, Revue Film Society board member and Treasurer, Marc Priestly said to IndieWire, “We spent over half a million dollars improving essentially someone else’s building over the last 17 years to improve the experience. We’ve renovated the lobby, we’ve renovated the cinema, we’ve installed new digital projectors, we have new ticketing systems. We’ve done wire upgrades. We’ve replaced plumbing that’s over 100 years old. We think we’ve done a huge amount of work to improve the cinema.”
To make matters more puzzling, Revue Cinema was and remains a thriving business with thousands of supporters including filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, who came out in support of the board’s struggle from the very beginning of the conflict and plans on hosting a screening of his gothic horror romance “Crimson Peak” at the theater on October 3 to benefit further renovations.
Aiming to put the issue to bed, in a press release put out by Revue Film Society, they wrote, “The Mullins have always wanted the Revue Cinema to operate as an independent movie theatre and community landmark, a desire they share with the Revue Film Society. The Society has not, and does not, endorse any statements suggesting otherwise. Negotiations, even between long-standing partners, can often lead to misunderstandings, but the length and strength of our partnership with the Mullins and good faith on all sides allowed us to end up in a good place.”