By Garry Maddox
The heritage-listed Chauvel Cinema in Paddington is facing closure as the result of deteriorating facilities and dismal box office takings.
Months after Palace Cinemas shut the Verona, the art-house chain’s last remaining venue in Oxford Street is, in the words of chief executive Benjamin Zeccola, “in its last days”.
The Chauvel cinema in Paddington.Credit: Palace Cinemas
“Unless something significant changes, I don’t think it will be open past the end of September,” he said.
The Chauvel, in Paddington Town Hall, has been an art-house institution for more than four decades.
Palace, which took over the lease in 2006 after a “Save the Chauvel” campaign, once had three cinemas in Oxford Street.
The Academy Twin closed after a rental dispute in 2010 and the Verona shut in February for a planned redevelopment of the building, with the chain opening Palace Moore Park at the Entertainment Quarter.
Closure of the Chauvel would be another blow to the vibrancy of a once-thriving retail and entertainment strip.
Zeccola said attendances had been “paltry” this year and renovations long discussed with Sydney City Council, which owns the Town Hall, have not happened.
Nine years ago, Palace proposed to the council a joint funding for new seats, carpets, toilets, other internal features and improved exterior signs to make the cinema more visible. It estimated the cost as $675,000, with the chain seeking a 10-year lease and future rental discounts in return.
“Years went by and we kept asking for an update and it was always coming, always coming,” Zeccola said. “In April, I said, ‘Look, it’s really getting desperate. We need to know what the future is.’
“The place needs investment. It’s been badly affected by water damage and other infrastructure issues for the building that are outside our control.
“They went, ‘We’re doing a review, we’re going to work out the masterplan.’ I expressed my frustration that I’d been hearing that for a decade.”
Zeccola said the cinema had deteriorated to the point where it needed “a couple of million dollars of investment” and Sydney Film Festival and Antenna Documentary Film Festival no longer wanted to use it for their screenings.
Undated photo of Paddington Town Hall, which houses the Chauvel.
“Customers have been saying the same thing – until it’s improved, they’ll go to other options,” he said.
Zeccola conceded Palace might keep the Chauvel open for a few more years if the council upgraded the seats, carpets and toilets.
“[But] this particular landlord, being a council, it’s all been so wishy-washy for so long that I’ve lost confidence that anything will even actually happen meaningfully,” he said.
Lord Mayor Clover Moore described the Chauvel as “a much-loved institution on the famous strip”.
“Our staff are meeting with the cinema to discuss how we can help ensure their continued success, as an important part of our cultural fabric,” she said.
Moore said the City of Sydney was committed to revitalising Oxford Street.
“Significant building refurbishment will contribute enormously, as will our new planning controls, which are already driving greater cultural and creative investment, encouraging a vibrant mix of new development and protecting important heritage,” she said.
A City of Sydney spokesperson said Palace had written to the council in May to request extending its lease for the Chauvel beyond 2026.
“During these discussions, the City flagged there would be capital works upgrades to Paddington Town Hall building in the short to mid-term,” the spokesperson said. “City staff are scheduled to meet with Chauvel operators [next Friday] to discuss [the] next steps.
“As part of its lease agreement, the Chauvel’s operators Palace are responsible for the upkeep of the cinema’s interiors, including the seats and carpets.”