Plot twist. Landmark Theatres will be auctioned off on Nov. 8, which casts the arthouse cinema chain’s future in further doubt, both in Denver and around the country.

In the past month, Landmark has closed both the Esquire and Chez Artiste theaters, leaving only the Mayan Theatre and the Landmark at Greenwood Village open in Denver.

Late Tuesday, a New York State Supreme Court judge cleared the way for a massive auction of properties owned by Charles Cohen’s Cohen Realty Enterprises, including the Landmark cinema chain he acquired in 2018. What started as 252 screens is now less than 175 in about 30 locations today. Landmark has offloaded 19 of its 27 Denver screens since 2017.

The outcome of the auction will determine what, if any, future Landmark has in Denver and other cities. If Landmark shutters altogether, it would be devastating for independent moviegoers in Denver and elsewhere.

At present, the Denver metro area has only Landmark’s six palatial screens in Greenwood Village and two more at the Mayan Theatre; Boulder’s  Boedecker Theater at the Dairy Arts Center; and the nonprofit Denver Film’s three screens at the Sie Film Center. The Texas-based Alamo Drafthouse, which offers 24 screens at its three Denver locations, opened as a home for independent cinema but was recently acquired by Sony and now offers only intermittent screenings of specialty films. Large chains like AMC and Harkins also intermittently screen small and foreign films.

According to Deadline, which first reported the story on Tuesday, this downward chapter began earlier this year when Fortress Credit Corp. sued Cohen Realty Enterprises for defaulting on a $534 million loan backed by Landmark and other assets. Since then, Landmark has closed its flagship Westside Los Angeles theater and others in San Francisco, Seattle and Denver.

The Cohen properties going up for auction in November also include a large design center, office tower and hotel, according to Deadline, which calls this one of the biggest auctions in New York real-estate history. 

In a statement to Deadline earlier this summer, a representative for Cohen said Landmark Theaters were not in jeopardy and that the company would continue to support independent films. But when Landmark closed the Esquire on July 12, President Kevin Holloway released a statement saying the Chez Artiste would stay open. Two weeks later, the Chez got its closing notice.

On Wednesday, a representative from Cohen referred the Denver Gazette back to Holloway, who has not yet responded to a request for comment.

Denver Film is not in the financial position to jump in and save the Chez Artiste or any other Landmark property – in part because of the huge cost of modernizing those aging theaters. But its brass are keeping a very close eye on the situation.

“This is a very interesting continuing turn of events for Landmark Theatres,” said Sie FilmCenter Artistic Director Keith Garcia. “We are definitely going to be watching it because all this change affects how independent films are distributed locally.”

As an informed but uninvolved observer, Garcia said, “It looks like they’re trying to find someone who would be interested in buying Landmark and then hopefully maintaining it in a way that Landmark apparently can’t. Time will tell when we find out who actually ends up buying it.

“But this is such a surprise, falling so closely after the closing of the Esquire and Chez Artiste. Really, anything is a surprise to me at this point.”

But as far as Denver Film’s immediate goals, he said: “We’re still standing firm on trying to do the best we can for movie viewers in the city and just seeing how the pieces fall out.”

The possible demise of Landmark would not be good news for local moviegoers, and it would not necessarily create much growth opportunity for the Sie FilmCenter, Garcia said. Denver Film would be able to go after more hot indie movies that would normally go first to Landmark, he said. But, two problems: There really haven’t been many hot indie movie releases since COVID.

And it’s just as likely that distributors will cut out the middleman (Denver Film) and take their films straight to the bigger chain theaters like AMC and Cinemark, which, according to Deadline, have been actively cherry-picking leases of Landmark theaters they like in strategic locations.

The Denver Gazette contacted Mark Cuban, who sold Landmark to Cohen in 2018, for his take on what he thinks all this means. His response: “I really have no idea.”