"There should be more things going on up here," a woman told the Daily Bruin on September 28. She was standing on Broxton Avenue while Tom Cruise signed autographs outside the Directors Village theater at the Los Angeles premiere of "Digger." She was right about the need. Her timing was off. By the end of this week, the theater that gave Westwood its summer of sold-out shows and red carpets will have run out of scheduled films.
For people who live within walking distance of the Village, the fall calendar looks different from the summer one. The famous marquees get the headlines. The films you can actually plan around in October are in two smaller rooms.
Four screens, one short walk
Four places matter for watching a film in Westwood right now. Three of them sit within about a block of each other on Broxton Avenue. The Bruin is directly across the street from the Fox Westwood building, now called Directors Village, and the Landmark Westwood is half a block south. Here is where each one stood as of September 30, 2026.
| Venue | Address | Status this fall |
|---|---|---|
| Directors Village, former Fox Westwood Village | 961 Broxton Ave. | Special events only. Last scheduled event is October 3 |
| Bruin Theatre | 948 Broxton Ave. | Aiming to reopen in October, depending on permits and inspections. No opening day announced |
| Landmark Westwood | 1045 Broxton Ave. | Open. One screen, October films listed |
| Billy Wilder Theater, UCLA Film & Television Archive | UCLA | Full fall calendar running into late November |
The two venues with the longest history in the Village are the two you can't count on this month. That is the story of Westwood moviegoing this fall.
October 3 closes out the Directors Village summer
The building at 961 Broxton has more than 1,000 seats. It closed in 2024 and was bought by the Village Directors Circle, a group of filmmakers that includes Christopher Nolan and producer Emma Thomas. The nonprofit American Cinematheque runs it under a partnership with the group. The theater came back in July with the Ultra Cinematheque 70 Fest, which showed "Lawrence of Arabia" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" on 70mm film. A three-week 70mm run of "The Odyssey" started July 17 and raised money for the restoration. People lined up two hours before showtime, and the run sold out until its final screening.
Premieres followed. These included a 25th-anniversary showing of "The Fast and the Furious" on August 17, "Coyote vs. Acme" on August 26, "Practical Magic 2" on August 31 and "Digger" on September 28. The last event on the American Cinematheque's schedule is "Miami Vice: Director's Final Cut" on Saturday, October 3, at 7 p.m.
After that, the reopening date depends on who you ask. The Daily Bruin's September 29 coverage still describes a $25 million restoration with a 2027 reopening. Bill Counter's Los Angeles Theatres history site gives a later status update. It says no renovation permits had been issued as of September 2026, that the team was still raising the $25 million and planned to start work in October, and that a reopening before 2028 is unlikely. It also lists Gensler as the architect. Until the owners confirm a start date, treat both years as estimates.
The Bruin's October is still a target
Across the street, the Bruin opened on December 31, 1937, and has been dark since its Regency Theatres lease ended in July 2024. Its last film was "Twisters." The new operator, Toronto exhibitor Rui Pereira, holds a long-term lease. Equipment for 35mm and 70mm film is being installed. In August, the theater's head of marketing, Benjamin Steinberg, told the Daily Bruin the plan is new releases Friday through Sunday and older classic films Monday through Thursday. The official schedule had not been set.
That split would make the Bruin the only theater in the Village with a regular weekday repertory schedule. The opening date is still only a target, though. The latest status note says the theater may reopen "perhaps as early as October," and other coverage adds that this depends on permits and inspections. At the end of September, bruinwestwood.com showed branding for the operator's Kingsway Theatre and sent visitors to Kingsway's listings. It had no Bruin showtimes or tickets yet. Variety reported the marquee would advertise "Practical Magic 2" ahead of opening. A movie title on the marquee does not mean the building is selling tickets.
The two rooms carrying the fall
With one palace closing and the other not yet open, the screens with a dependable October schedule are smaller ones.
The Landmark Westwood at 1045 Broxton Avenue is a single-screen theater with digital projection and Dolby Atmos sound. Its bar serves craft beer and wine, and the popcorn comes with real butter. October films are already on its calendar. It is the one place in the Village where you can choose a showtime tonight without checking whether the theater is open.
The UCLA Film & Television Archive's Billy Wilder Theater has the fullest calendar in the neighborhood. These dates fall between now and Thanksgiving:
- October 7, 7:30 p.m. An Evening With Cagney & Lacey
- October 14, 7:30 p.m. "Man Trouble" and "The Man Who Came Back"
- October 17 to November 22. "Ryusuke Hamaguchi: Early Works." The series opens with "Like Nothing Happened" and "Passion" on October 17 and includes "Intimacies" on October 25 and "Happy Hour" on November 8. It closes with the "Tōhoku Documentary Trilogy" at 11 a.m. on November 22
- October 24, 7:30 p.m. "The Battle of Algiers," 60th-anniversary screening
- October 31 and November 1. "The Trouble With Ghosts" pairs "La Llorona" with "Pulse" on Halloween night, then "How to Save a Dead Friend" with "A Ghost Story" the next evening
- November 7, 7:30 p.m. "Babette's Feast"
- November 21, 7:30 p.m. "Hollywood Squares," 60th-anniversary screening
Archive Director May Hong HaDuong told the Daily Bruin that curation and unique formats are what get people out of the house to see something they can't see at home. That was the Bruin's pitch for its weekday classics. Until the Bruin opens, the Archive's schedule is the closest thing Westwood has to it.
One Saturday that fills the whole day
October 10 is the easiest day this fall to plan around the Village. The Westwood Village Improvement Association's second annual Oktoberfest runs from 1 to 6 p.m. at Broxton Plaza, 1036 Broxton Avenue, with beer, live music, vendors and games. Broxton Plaza is a few doors from the Landmark, so an afternoon at the plaza can lead straight into an early show. Later that night, the Hammer Museum holds its free Fall Exhibitions Celebration from 8 to 10:30 p.m. It marks four new exhibitions, with DJ Shay Elys playing and food and drink for sale.
If you'd rather eat before a movie at the Century City end of the neighborhood, Rumi's Kitchen opened September 23 at Westfield Century City. The same mall also has an AMC.
A calendar that lines up with the train
The Directors Village timeline matches another Westwood project. Metro's September 2026 schedule forecasts the D Line's Century City station opening in spring 2027 and the Westwood/UCLA station in fall 2027. If the restoration finishes on the earlier 2027 estimate, the restored palace and the subway stop a short walk away would open around the same time. If the 2028 estimate holds, the train comes first.
Until then, the Bruin is the one to watch. If it opens on its October target, Westwood will have a first-run palace on weekends and classic films on weeknights for the first time since July 2024. If it slips, the Landmark and the Billy Wilder Theater will carry the fall.
We follow Westwood the way residents do, one marquee and one storefront at a time. If you're thinking about what the next few years of Broxton Avenue could mean for your home, or for a home you're considering nearby, Joel + Dorit Cooper would be glad to talk it through. Schedule a Consultation.
