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Filmmaker Jason Reitman is working on a deal to take over Westwood’s historic Fox Village Theater in the next few weeks. The approximately 1,375-seat theater has been listed for sale for the past year, and Reitman is leading a group of other entertainment industry figures in the purchase, which was first reported by The Ankler’s Transom column.
Reitman, the director of “Juno,” is currently at work on “SNL 1975” about the iconic skit show’s first broadcast. He’s also a producer on the upcoming “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.”
It’s not known whether Reitman and his associates have plans keep the venue as a first-run theater or to add additional screens.
The Fox Village, built in 1930, is a frequent site for premieres including “Juno,” (pictured above), “Licorice Pizza” and many others. The location also includes a row of retail shops and a parking lot. The distinctive Spanish mission-style building is topped by a 170-foot neon-lit tower, making it a beacon for filmgoers on the Westside of Los Angeles.
Though the large venue was massively popular with audiences for its first six decades, the growth of modern multiplexes with adjacent parking and the downturn in Westwood Village’s popularity make it a somewhat challenging location to run, despite the large number of UCLA students in the area.
The theater’s real estate listing read, “This is a multi-generational asset which has not been previously made available for sale by the ownership adding to the uniqueness and rarity of the offering.”
Regency has run the theater since 2010. It was designated as a historic-cultural monument in 1988.
The Los Angeles exhibition scene has seen numerous changes since the beginning of the pandemic in early 2020, including the closure of the Landmark Pico and the Cinerama Dome and Arclight Hollywood, which is reportedly set for a 2025 reopening.
Thanks to streamers and filmmakers, other historic venues have been revitalized recently. Netflix has taken over the historic Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, while Amazon runs the Culver Theater in Culver City. Quentin Tarantino, who already owned the New Beverly, purchased the Vista Theatre in Los Feliz, which re-opened in November.
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