The Bruin Theater in Westwood Village to Reopen: ‘It’s a Magical Place’
The Bruin Theater, a historic 1937 cinema in Los Angeles' Westwood Village, is set to reopen in October under Canadian theatre operator Rui Pereira, who also runs Toronto's Kingsway Theater. The reopening marks a further boost for Westwood's film scene, following last week's news that Sony Pictures will take over the Cinerama Dome with Alamo Drafthouse operating the former ArcLight multiplex, and comes after the Bruin closed in 2024 when Regency Theatres' lease on the site and the neighbouring Village theatre ended.
Pereira plans to install 35mm and 70mm projection and screen a mix of first-run films, classics and special events, while retaining the venue's "essence" alongside recently upgraded sound. The 670-seat Bruin, famed for its appearance in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", is less than half the size of the Village across the street, now run as Director's Village by Jason Reitman's group ahead of a planned autumn renovation. Westwood was once a thriving cinema hub, but many of its theatres have closed over recent decades, leaving the Landmark Westwood and the newly acquired iPic (now under Blue Fox Entertainment) as remaining venues, with much of the audience having shifted to AMC's Century City 15.
- Westwood's historic Bruin Theater reopens in October under new operator Rui Pereira
- Venue will show 35mm/70mm film, first-run and classic movies
- Follows Sony/Alamo Drafthouse's Cinerama Dome takeover, boosting LA cinema scene
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Westwood Village, in Los Angeles, was once a thriving cinema destination where film premieres and audiences defined the neighbourhood. Over recent decades, many of its theatres closed as viewing habits shifted and audiences migrated to larger multiplexes elsewhere, leaving the district substantially diminished.
The Bruin Theater is one of Westwood's most significant buildings, a historic cinema operating since 1937 with nearly nine decades of continuous use. The venue achieved prominence through its appearance in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and remains iconic to the neighbourhood's identity.
The theatre closed in 2024 when its previous operator's lease ended. Its reopening therefore matters as part of broader revival efforts for Westwood's cinema district, alongside recent developments at other historic venues in the area that suggest renewed investment in the neighbourhood as a film destination.