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The Bruin Theater in Los Angeles’ Westwood Village is set to reopen in October, with the announcement capping a big month for the city’s movie lovers. Last week, Sony Pictures announced it will take over operation of the Cinerama Dome with Alamo Drafthouse running the former ArcLight theaters multiplex.
Now the Bruin Theater, built in 1937, is planned to reopen in October with Rui Pereira, a Canadian theater operator, taking over the lease for the historic site. “It’s a magical place,” says Pereira, who also operates Toronto’s Kingsway Theater.
Pereira plans to add 35mm and 70mm projection and program first-run movies, classic films and special events. The sound system has had recent upgrades, according to Ben Steinberg, who helped bring attention to the Cinerama Dome reopening and is assisting Pereira with marketing.
“We want to keep the essence of the theater,” says Pereira, who wants it to feel upgraded but still like a classic theater.
The 670-seat Bruin is less than half the size of the Village across the street, which was taken over by Jason Reitman and his consortium of filmmakers and is now operating as Director’s Village before a renovation planned for the fall. The Bruin played an important role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” when Margot Robbie’s character Sharon Tate goes to the theater to watch the movie she stars in, “The Wrecking Crew.”
The Bruin has been shuttered since 2024, when Regency Theatres’ lease ended at both the Village and the Bruin.
Once the bustling hub of moviegoing on the Westside of Los Angeles, Westwood’s theaters have gradually shut down over the past few decades. The Landmark Westwood, opened in 1946, is still in operation on Broxton, while Blue Fox Entertainment recently took over the iPic Theater on Wilshire. Westsiders have largely migrated to AMC’s Century City 15, while the Landmark’s Nuart and Laemmle’s Royal continue to program speciality films on Santa Monica Boulevard.
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