This post was updated Dec. 1 at 10:32 a.m.
When Tara Radmard arrived in Westwood as an incoming first-year student, her first stop was not UCLA.
It was the Westwood Village Theater.
“When you walk in, it’s an experience,” said Radmard, a third-year film, television and digital media student. “It’s so old and it has so much history – it’s iconic.”
After over a year-long hiatus from operation, the nearly 100-year-old theater that made Radmard’s first visit to Westwood so special is slated to reopen in 2027.
The theater, which opened in 1931 and has hosted premieres of multiple feature films, was purchased by the Village Directors Circle, a collective of filmmakers led by Jason Reitman, including Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan and Guillermo Del Toro after its lease expired in July 2024. They will partner with American Cinematheque, a non-profit cultural organization, to restore the theater in a $25 million project.
With this new partnership, the Village Directors Circle and American Cinematheque intend to continue the theater’s tradition of offering Hollywood premieres, along with American Cinematheque’s programming. The $25 million will support renovations to the theater lobby, providing a space for concessions, filmmaker artifacts and retail kiosks, according to the LA Times.
American Cinematheque did not respond in time to requests for comment on the reopening of the venue.
The Bruin Theatre – located directly across the street from the venue – also closed in July 2024 after its lease expired, but has not announced any plans to reopen.
Mustafa Agha, a third-year applied mathematics student, said he remembers going to movie premieres when the theater was still open, such as the “Wonka” premiere in 2023, where he saw Hugh Grant in person.
“It’ll bring so much life because the amount of people who will go there for the movies, who will get food before or after, who will maybe shop around, who will see a livelihood in Westwood,” Agha said.
Agha added that he is excited to be able to see films nearby in his college town, rather than having to go to the Westfield Century City mall – which is about three miles from campus.
Radmard said the theater may also bring more students into Westwood.
“When the theater closed, it killed that whole little intersection (of Broxton Avenue and Weyburn Avenue),” Radmard said, “But hopefully, having more motion there … it’ll bring people to Westwood.”
Caroline Sierk, a fourth-year political science student, said that going to the theater is a cost-effective way for students to have fun.
She added it is reassuring to see filmmakers in Hollywood invest in historic theaters, such as the Westwood Village Theater.
“They’re investing in our history and our future by giving today’s audiences a space to celebrate the medium of film,” said Sierk, who is also a filmmaker. “When you walk in there and you have the gilded ceilings and the beautiful tower, it’s the heartbeat of Westwood.”
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