LOS ANGELES — At a moment when some of Los Angeles' most storied movie houses remain dark — most notably the ArcLight Hollywood and Cinerama Dome — and many others are still fighting through a fragile recovery, one of its oldest is taking a significant step toward revival.

On Tuesday, director Jason Reitman and a coalition of more than 30 filmmakers announced that the American Cinematheque will operate and program the Village Theater in Westwood as it undergoes a $25 million restoration aimed at a 2027 reopening. The directors — who purchased the 94-year-old movie palace in February 2024 — have tapped the nonprofit to run the more-than-1,300-seat venue and help shape its future.

The agreement brings together two unusually powerful forces in Los Angeles film culture: a who's-who roster of A-list directors and, in the American Cinematheque, one of the city's most visible and ambitious programming institutions. Reitman's coalition — including Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Damien Chazelle, Bradley Cooper, Alfonso Cuarón, Ryan Coogler, James Gunn, Denis Villeneuve, Karyn Kusama, Lulu Wang, Chloé Zhao and many others — bought the Village in an effort to preserve it as a hub for communal moviegoing at a time of deep uncertainty for theaters.

"Last year, some of the greatest living directors rallied to save a Los Angeles monument, the Village Theater in Westwood," Reitman said in a statement. "We often like to think of movie theaters as churches. If so, the Village is a cathedral and with the American Cinematheque, we found our congregation."

Under the new agreement, the American Cinematheque will manage daily operations and lead programming at the theater, with "active participation from the filmmakers," according to the announcement.

The remodeled venue is expected to host special screenings with in-person conversations, premieres, awards-season events, new releases, repertory titles and an expanded slate of AC's signature festivals, including Beyond Fest, Bleak Week, This Is Not a Fiction and Ultra Cinematheque 70 Fest. The Village has been a showcase for Hollywood premieres since its opening in 1931, a tradition the partners say they intend to continue.

The Village's lobby will be redesigned as a multipurpose space for concessions, filmmaker artifacts, retail kiosks and premiere-related events. The directors and AC are in the quiet phase of a $25 million capital campaign to support the renovation, which is scheduled to begin early next year. Reitman said he is "very excited by the early leadership commitments by individuals and a major technology sponsor" and emphasized that they want to give audiences "a place to experience the films they love with the people they love."

For the American Cinematheque — which operates the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica and co-programs both the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and the Los Feliz 3 — the partnership significantly expands its footprint. Founded in 1984, the Cinematheque is a member-supported nonprofit dedicated to fostering a diverse and engaged film community through immersive programming, conversation and presentation, staging more than 1,600 screenings a year across formats ranging from 35mm and 70mm to digital and rare nitrate.

"Partnering with the brilliant and virtuoso Village Directors Circle to renovate the Village Theater is an exciting milestone for the American Cinematheque," AC Chair Rick Nicita said. "Our goal is to create a vibrant cultural hub that not only celebrates cinema but also enriches the community and welcomes audiences from all over Los Angeles and the world."

The announcement lands as Los Angeles continues to navigate a theatrical ecosystem reshaped by the pandemic. The Vista reopened under Quentin Tarantino's stewardship, Vidiots rebounded in Eagle Rock and the Egyptian welcomed audiences back in 2023 after a major restoration. Yet the recovery has been uneven, with some theaters thriving and others still struggling to regain pre-COVID audiences.

Meanwhile, the status of two of L.A.'s most famous movie houses remains uncertain. The ArcLight Hollywood and the adjacent Cinerama Dome, closed since 2020, took a small step forward this week when the Central Hollywood Neighborhood Council offered unanimous support for a conditional-use permit allowing the complex to serve alcohol. The theaters' owners, the Decurion Corp., which is controlled by the Forman family, have said they remain committed to redeveloping the property, though no timeline has been announced.

The Village's revival dovetails with broader efforts to revitalize Westwood Village ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics. With the theater potentially repositioned for an attention-grabbing relaunch, the Village Directors Circle and the Cinematheque hope to turn the venue into a cultural anchor that could stand alongside Walt Disney Concert Hall, the Hollywood Bowl and Griffith Observatory.

Speaking to The Times last year after the purchase, Reitman put it this way: "You know, there's something in the name — Westwood is a village and this theater is called the Village. I think that's what we all yearn for. No matter how technologically advanced we get, no matter how much we crave the city center, there's a part of us that always yearns for a village. This is a village for movies."

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