That’s a wrap: Lease at Silver City not renewed

Windsor, Ont. -

Cineplex will not be renewing its lease at one of its locations in Windsor.

On Wednesday, the group confirmed to CTV News Windsor the lease at Silver City, on Walker Road, expires at the end of the year.

The decision is unrelated to temporary closures in Ontario or COVID-19.

Cineplex says pre-pandemic attendance levels showed movie goers in Windsor were gravitating to their other location, Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall, which features newer amenities.

The theatre offers enhanced movie experiences, such as full recliner seating, ultraAVX and D-Box motion seats.

“If the pandemic wouldn’t have happened would those refurbishments have happened at that property, and I think there’s a good chance it would have, which would have kept it a bit more viable,” Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) director Vincent Georgie says.

He says losing a dozen screens at Silver City will mean fewer films for movie-goers.

“You’re gonna lose out a little bit on the diversity of programming,” Georgie says. “It’s going to be really concentrated to your top eight or 10 films at the box office. That’s it.”

No movie theatre could also be a blow to nearby businesses on Walker Road.

“What’s gonna happen to all those restaurants? What’s gonna happen to the retailers who depend on people after they go, before they go to the theatre that they would stop in and do some shopping in between,” said Joe Mikhail, president of Mikhail Holdings, owners of the Silver City property.

He says the theatre paved the way for one of the largest commercial sectors in the city.

“Famous Players came down, built this huge 70,000 square foot facility. Then all of a sudden people had to follow it,” Mikhail says.

He tells CTV News he’s reached out to Landmark Cinemas as a possible replacement, and is hoping for a Hollywood ending.

“You could never build a movie theatre in this country again,” Mikhail says. “The costs are too astronomical. So if it’s gone, you’ll never see a theatre there again.”

Silver City was in business for over two decades.