The Bruin Theater in Los Angeles’ Westwood Village will reopen its doors in October, and the announcement caps a big month for the city’s movie lovers. Last week, Sony Pictures announced that it will take over operation of the Cinerama Dome and that Alamo Drafthouse will manage the former ArcLight multiplex theater.

The Bruin Theatre, built in 1937, is now planned to reopen in October and Rui Pereira, a Canadian theater operator, will take over the lease of the historic site. “It’s a magical place,” says Pereira, who also runs Toronto’s Kingsway Theatre.

Pereira plans to add 35mm and 70mm screenings and schedule first-run movies, classic films and special events. The sound system has had recent upgrades, according to Ben Steinberg, who helped draw attention to the Cinerama Dome’s reopening and is helping Pereira with marketing.

“We want to maintain the essence of the theater,” says Pereira, who wants it to feel updated but still be a classic theater.

The 670-seat Bruin is less than half the size of the Village across the street, which was acquired by Jason Reitman and his consortium of filmmakers and now operates as Director’s Village ahead of a planned fall renovation. The Bruin played a major role in Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” when Margot Robbie’s character, Sharon Tate, goes to the movies to see the movie she stars in, “The Wrecking Crew.”

The Bruin has been closed since 2024, when Regency Theaters’ lease at both the Village and the Bruin ended.

Westwood Cinemas, once the bustling movie hub of Los Angeles’ west side, have gradually closed in recent decades. The Landmark Westwood, opened in 1946, is still in operation in Broxton, while Blue Fox Entertainment recently took over the iPic Theater in Wilshire. Westsiders have largely migrated to AMC’s Century City 15, while Landmark’s Nuart and Laemmle’s Royal continue to schedule specialty movies on Santa Monica Boulevard.