My Favorite Independent Theaters In Los Angeles
Unsurprisingly, Los Angeles has no shortage of excellent independent movie theaters for those who’d like to branch out from large chains and newer releases. These theaters offer screenings of old, rarely-shown movies, and often a chance to support non-profit organizations dedicated to the support and revitalization of movie theaters around Los Angeles. Here are my top five:
The origins behind Vidiots are fascinating. Vidiots was originally a video store in Santa Monica in the 1980s, running all the way until its closure in 2017. It then reopened in 2023 in the Eagle Theater, which had closed in 2001. Its roots aren’t lost, though, as there's an entire video store connected to the main theater. One downside for me, however, is that they tend to show a majority of movies on DCP (as in, a standard digital file of the movie), rather than on film. They sometimes show movies on the standard film format of 35mm, but not as frequently as I'd like. It’s my favorite way to watch a movie, since for older, pre-digital movies, film is nearly always the way they were meant to be viewed. There’s nothing wrong with DCPs; sometimes they can be a better alternative if the print of the movie is really beat up. But I can watch DCPs anytime at home. Watching movies on film is pretty much exclusive to the movie theater.
4. Vista Theater, Los Feliz
Another cinema I love is the Vista Theater, owned by Quentin Tarantino. It’s one of the most popular independent theaters in LA, and for good reason. It screens a wide variety of different movies, both old and new, exclusively on film. They’re able to project multiple formats, including 16mm, 35mm, 65mm, 70mm, and even the rare VistaVision. In fact, it’s one of the only theaters in the U.S. that has the proper equipment to do so. Essentially, VistaVision is a similar format to IMAX in that it projects 35mm film horizontally rather than vertically, allowing a large image. One of my absolute favorite things about this theater is the main auditorium. It’s one of the coolest looking auditoriums in L.A. It also has a lot of legroom for all rows, probably the most any theater in L.A. has to offer. Honestly, my only issue is that the popcorn can taste kinda stale, but the concessions department is otherwise great!
3. David Geffen Theater, Hancock Park
In terms of visual and sound quality, it’s state-of-the-art, and probably the best in L.A. It’s the main theater of the Academy Museum, situated within a huge sphere-like structure attached to the campus—a really striking piece of architecture in the city. Their programming is excellent. I’ve seen so many great movies here, often with filmmakers or cast in attendance. Unfortunately though, unlike other theaters on this list, they're not that great at advertising screenings, so it's hard to stay notified of what's coming up. Also, it’s pretty difficult to navigate their website to actually buy tickets.
2. Aero Theater, Santa Monica
This one is a little far for most Sequoyans, but I’ve gotta mention it since it’s in my top three! I’ve been to a lot of great screenings here: Rare Prints, Q & A's even worldwide/U.S premieres. This is one of the theaters run by the American Cinematheque, an organization dedicated to revitalizing old movie theaters around L.A. and hosting incredible screenings year-round. It's a cool, classic L.A. movie theater. The vibes here are always great. In terms of what shows here, it’s one of the best. I think my favorite screening I attended here was probably the Backrooms premiere. That was a super cool experience.
1.Egyptian Theater, Hollywood
I think this is forever gonna be my favorite theater. I’ve seen the most movies here by far, and I think it’s the sweet spot. The theater is absolutely beautiful, the seats are great, sound and visual quality is on point, it has great concessions—overall, it’s a great place to see a movie. The projection system supports a wide variety of formats too, including the incredibly rare nitrate film stock. It’s a storied place too. In the lobby, there's a little area with a bunch of photos and descriptions that showcase different premieres and such that were held there in the past. It was even where the first major Hollywood premiere was hosted (Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood on October 18, 1922. Also the date it opened)! It's also run by the American Cinematheque, so there's always something good being shown. They also just renovated the theater. Now, there's a better sound system and the theater is much warmer.