Another independent movie house may be biting the dust. The bedraggled yet still appreciated Opera Plaza Cinema appreciated for its programming and location if not its interior is allegedly set to be replaced with in the ground floor of the Opera Plaza development with 6,300 square feet of retail and service space. This is according to Socketsite, which does not point to a source but presumably this is come down the pipe in the Planning queue.
The change will still need approval, and it's unclear where in the process this may be.
Opera Plaza's four small screens regularly feature independent and foreign films, as part of the Landmark Theatres chain. Currently they're showing the remastered 4K re-release of Merchant Ivory's Maurice, the French comedy Lost in Paris, and Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Endless Poetry.
If Opera Plaza closes, this will leave Landmark's presence in San Francisco with just two locations, the single-screen Clay Theatre, and the multi-screen Embarcadero Center Cinema.
The Clay Theatre, which has been under the management of Landmark since 1991, was readying for a major revamp as of last year, though it's unclear if or when it may still close for a renovation.
Overall it's been a rough decade for SF's scrappier and smaller movie houses, with the closures of The Red Vic (in 2011), and the Lumiere (in 2012). The Roxie became a non-profit a few years back, and both the historic Vogue and Balboa theaters, which still show first-run Hollywood fare, are also run by a non-profit.
We'll let you know if and when plans for Opera Plaza become a reality.
Update: SFist reached out to Landmark Theatres for comment, and rep Laine Kaplowitz tells us, "We are currently speaking to the landlord regarding our future. That’s all I can confirm at this time."
Previously: Historic Clay Theatre Readies For Renovation, Could Add Dining And Drinks