There is a pretty worrying read in The Irish Times today regarding the future of the Light House Cinema in Smithfield.
THE BOARD of Dublin’s Light House cinema will meet today to discuss its future ahead of a High Court hearing of a petition to wind up the company.
John Flynn, the cinema’s landlord, has issued a wind-up petition against Light House Cinema Exhibition and Distribution Company Limited, following a dispute about the rent on the Smithfield premises. The petition will be heard on Monday.
The directors of the cinema have been in negotiations with Mr Flynn and his family in relation to the rent charged on the property, which houses four cinema screens in a basement building in Smithfield Market. It is understood the landlord doubled the annual rent from €100,000 to €200,000 last May. The directors have withheld a portion of the rent charged.
You can read the report here.
My visits to the Light House were few and far between, mainly owing to its location, but I did love it when I visited. At 4 screens it is, much like the IFI in Temple Bar, catered towards art house cinema and foreign film screenings that might not get a look-in at the likes of Cineworld.
It’s a sign of the times of course, and if one walks through Smithfield you can’t help but notice the amount of empty retail units in the area that never really took off in the way you’d suspect was expected.
It will be a great loss to cinema goers in Dublin if it is lost, as The Cobblestone is undoubtedly the best spot in the city for pre-cinema pints.
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Donal
Ciarán
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Come Here To Me! 
The upward rent review (doubled!) was clearly meant to occur in a thriving environment at Smithfield.
That obviously hasn’t happened.
It would be a shame to lose it, it is the most pleasant cinema experience in Dublin.
P.S. Cobblestone beforehand, Walsh’s afterwards.
Yeah, great cinema and the architecture of it alone is worth preserving. What, it being a converted car park donned out as a cinema, it points towards a direction that a lot of NAMA land properties might need to go in if the city is to thrive again. Taking what was inhumane, and putting it back to human scale.
Whatever about the upward rent review, I think part of the Lighthouse’s problems stem from the nearby Cineworld. Contrary to the above, Cineworld actually does screen quite a few arthouse films in direct competition with IFI and the Lighthouse. With 17 screens to fill, Cineworld can go after this niche audience, and its Unlimited scheme, popular with frequent cinemagoers, means the arthouse-appreciating subset of the Unlimited customers are not going to shell out extra euros to see a film at the Lighthouse when they can see it at Cineworld for no extra cost.
That, of course, is the nature of competition. Cineworld is a behometh. If it remains active in this part of the cinema market, the Light House and IFI are always going to find things more difficult.
Which is a shame. But it’s up to those of use who like these films to view them at the arthouses instead of Cineworld if we want to support non-Hollywood film.
“But it’s up to those of use who like these films to view them at the arthouses instead of Cineworld if we want to support non-Hollywood film.”
Completely, I always opt for the IFI. McCineworld is actually more expensive too, the IFI’s ticket costs are very low by comparison.
Of course the likes of Cineworld are responsible for the demise of the arthouse cinema, just as Starbucks has a habit of killing lovely cafes!
“McCineworld is actually more expensive too”
Not necessarily.
It all depends on the person and what films they like going to see.
Personally;
– I prefer ‘hollywood’ & Brit./Amer. indie films more than euro-arthouse.
– I have a Cineworld unlimited card and go to the cinema, on average, five times a month usually on Weekday/Weekend evenings.
So, Cineworld unlimited card (€19.99) / 5 films per month = €3.99 each.
Even if there were five films I wanted to go to see in IFI in any given month and even if I had the student concession discount, it still works out at €7.00 each i.e. €35.00
To be honest, I feel shit trying to defending Cineworld Group Plc. against The Lighthouse/IFI.
I love the IFI, especially for its location and food. If there’s a film showing there that looks good or if they have a film that I want to see that’s not on in Cineworld, I’m more than happy to pay the very reasonable €6.00/€7.75 and it feels good knowing that the money is going to an Irish owned, Irish-film industry supporting enterprise.