EXCLUSIVE: The Bruin Theater in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles is coming back with a hopeful re-opening in mid-October thanks to Toronto-based exhibitor Rui Pereira.
Pereira recently signed a lease with the Martyn Skouras family (descendants of Spyros Panagiotis Skouras, president of 20th Century Fox), which owns the Bruin.
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The Bruin Theater, which originally opened its doors in 1937, closed in July 2024 alongside its historic brother The Village after Regency Theaters’ lease ended.
Pereira is a longtime theater owner in Canada, having operated the Kingsway Theatre for 18 years, and prior to that the 1948-erected Humber Cinema, a former Odeon property, which closed in 2019.
Pereira tells Deadline that the theater is in very good shape. He’s bringing back the 70MM and 35MM projectors and making upgrades to the digital projectors. Seats are in good working shape in addition to the screen.
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His mission is to keep the theater’s originality intact a la his previous properties. “I want to keep the essence of the theater, I don’t want to erase its history or gloss it over,” he said.
Pereira added that one hope down the road is to potentially add two screening rooms to the upstairs (15-seat theater venues). He’s already been approached by studios for potential premieres and screenings; hence there’s a chance we could see doors open before mid-October for special events. Before the venue opens, you’ll see the marquee lit up at some point with ads for Warner Bros’ Practical Magic 2.
There was buzz for some time that Jason Reitman was making a go at the Bruin after purchasing The Village, which is set to undergo further restorations. However, we hear the Bruin wasn’t for sale.
Nonetheless, with the Bruin’s expected re-opening, following our news of Sony reviving and re-opening the Cinerama Dome and Arclight for 2028, it’s a good time for cinemas in the City of Angels.
Thank you to Peter, Bill, Rui, and Ben!!!
The first theater that I went to in Westwood after arriving in L.A. in
December ’64. The double feature: GOODBYE CHARLIE and FATE IS THE HUNTER.
The Village is coming back this is great news. Now please, back to how it was in the 90s, have a police presence, enforce parking citations, help this area continue to rebound.
I’ve been hearing unverified reports of this for the last couple weeks on social media. Glad to hear it’s not just a fake rumor. Can’t wait for the movie theater to reopen.
Best news to hear! the Bruin has always been a first-class theater through its history. So many movie theaters have vanished in Westwood Village over the years and the pandemic. Kudos to Jason reitman for re-opening the Village theater!