The trustees of the Phoenix cinema have appealed for audiences to return after it emerged it needs to raise £50,000 by the end of March.
In September the trust that runs the East Finchley venue announced plans for it to join the Curzon chain of London cinemas, which would be responsible for marketing and programming.
The trustees said the alternative was insolvency and closure, but protesters said the venue, which shows arthouse films, would lose its “unique identity” if it were taken over. A compromise was reached and the deal was halted, but trustee Alison Gold said the cinema’s future was not settled.
She said the £50,000 was “not some red line where we say if we don’t get it then we take the Curzon partnership” and they hoped fundraising and ticket sales would help them to reach it.
She added: “Unfortunately during October when all this campaign was going on footfall and admissions weren’t good, they were down on the previous year, so we’re looking for that to improve. If people support their cinema they need to come to it.”
The one-screen venue opened in 1912.
