Netflix and the American Cinematheque will reopen Hollywood’s iconic The Egyptian Theatre next month after more than three years of renovations and just in time to showcase the streamer’s awards lineup.
The historic landmark, built during the silent era, has been dark since movie theaters across the country closed in March 2020. Netflix closed a deal to buy the Egyptian in May 2020 and committed to a major restorations (the pact was first revealed in 2019).
The Egyptian will remain the home of the American Cinematheque. The general plan is for the art org to independently program movies Friday-Sunday. Netflix will use the venue for screenings, premieres and special events Monday through Thursday, in addition to making select screenings of its movies available to the public. There will be times when the two swamp programming dates (as reflected below).
The grand opening kicks off Nov. 9 with the release of the Netflix documentary short, Temple of Film: 100 Years of the Egyptian Theatre. Directed by Angus Wall, the film includes interviews with Guillermo Del Toro, Rian Johnson, Lynette Howell Taylor, Autumn Durald Arkapaw and Peyton Hall, the architect who guided the restoration.
As part of the festivities, there will also be a screening of David Fincher‘s The Killer (Netflix) and a Q&A with the filmmaker.
From Nov. 10-21, the venue will host American Cinematheque Presents: Ultra Cinematheque 70 Fest 2023, a longtime annual festival showcasing 70mm films from the past and present.
That’s followed by Bradley Cooper‘s Maestro from Nov. 22-27. On Dec. 5, Wes Anderson‘s short The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar will screen alongside other one-reelers selected by the filmmaker. (Both films are from Netflix.)
The sale to Netflix took more than a year to finalize since the Cinematheque is a nonprofit organization that bought the former movie palace for $1 from the now-defunct L.A. Redevelopment Authority.
The deal does not involve the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica, where Cinematheque has a 10-year lease.
Netflix also now operates New York’s prized Paris Theatre, which it saved from permanently closing. The cinema recently came back online after major upgrades, including installing a new Dolby Atmos sound system and the technology needed to play 70mm film for the first time in over 15 years.
