Log in
Register
Rumours that Duncan’s last movie theatre was closing began swirling Saturday when Duncan residents spotted employees loading a U-Haul at the Duncan Caprice Theatre.
The dual-screen cinema showed on social media the next day that its screens would be permanently turned off after December 30.
“This was not a simple resolution and we perceived that it was sudden, but know that surely we are all devastated,” he said. “From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you for these fabulous 10 years. “
Hollywood 3 Cinemas owner Moby Amarsi said the closing was a last-minute decision. “I was hoping to get a few month’s extension. We had another clause in the lease that would have given us another two years.”
But Amarsi said the building’s Hong Kong-based landlord gave him only 15 days to respond to a 300 per cent rent increase — something he said would have been “probably bearable” pre-pandemic but unfeasible now.
Many former and current citizens of the Cowichan Valley shared fond memories on social media of their first dates and family outings at the Duncan Caprice Theatre.
Originally named the Caprice Twin, the theatre that opened in 1982 on the former site of the Cowichan Creamery became the sole movie theatre in town when the 58-year-old Odeon Theatre at Station Street closed the following year.
The Caprice was upgraded to digital projection in 2014 when Hollywood 3 Cinemas took over operations.
Amarsi said new regulations for movie sellers and the recent shift of some movies to direct-to-home streaming have made it difficult for small theaters like the Caprice to operate.
“Distributors need us to keep [a film] for 3 weeks straight,” he said. “If you keep it for 3 weeks and you only have two screens or one screen and 3 or 4 videos come out, you’re left with the same movie. “
The Network of Independent Canadian Exhibitors, a national independent cinema organization, said in October that many independent theatres were in a tough position where they have to repay Canada Emergency Business Account loans while audiences have yet to fully return.
“Independent cinemas are suffering from the reopening; We rarely hear about places that bring other people back to life,” the organization said in a statement.
Amarsi said he is still hoping to keep the movie magic alive in Duncan after receiving many offers of support and help. “We have floated the idea of maybe converting it into a nonprofit.”
mjlo@timescolonist. com
© 2024 Times Colonist