The Bruin Theater in Westwood Village and the Fox Village Theater are set to show their last films — for now — on Thursday as Regency Theatres' lease on the historic Los Angeles venues expires.
The minimalist, modern-style Bruin Theatre opened in 1937 and is represented by Newmark Commercial Real Estate, which represented the sale of the Fox Village Theatre. At 670 seats, it is smaller than the Fox Village Theatre across the street, which currently seats about 1,400.
Both venues have a long history of hosting movie premieres, and Bruin also played a significant role in Quentin Tarantino's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
“The owners would like to thank the Jolin family and the Regency Theatre for our relationship with them over the past 14 years,” said Owen Solomon, the building’s owners’ representative. “The owners are currently evaluating future opportunities for The Bruin.”
The Fox Village, built in 1931, is set to reopen at an unspecified date after being acquired by director Jason Reitman and a group of partners including Christopher Nolan, Rian Johnson, Steven Spielberg, Chloé Zhao, J.J. Abrams and others in February. The plan is to add a bar and restaurant and tap into the filmmakers’ personal collections of prints and memorabilia.
Regency Theatres president Lyndon Jolin said they were “not aware of any details of future plans” for Bruin.
Reitman's representatives did not respond to a request for comment on whether he might join the Bruin team in addition to the Village.
Once the most popular movie destination on the West Side of Los Angeles, Westwood has lost nearly all of its many theaters over the past few decades. The Landmark Westwood Center in Brookstone and iPic in Wilshire are the last remaining venues in Westwood Village. The nearby AMC Century City 15 is now the area’s premier exhibitor.
