Opened: 1992 by Laemmle Theatres as the Laemmle Sunset 5. The theatres are on the second floor of a complex at Sunset and Crescent Heights that also includes a Trader Joe's and a CVS. Here we're looking across the atrium toward the entrance. Photo: Bill Counter - June 2023
Website: www.landmarktheatres.com
Seating: 1,118 total originally. After the Sundance remodel the
capacities in the 5 auditoria ranged from 102 to 189 with a total
capacity of 630.
Architect: unknown
Film capability: Theatre #1 has 70mm equipment. It's a Century JJ2 with a Christie lamphouse. "Oppenheimer" and other films have recently been run in 70.
Under the Laemmle tenure the house was known
for running first run commercial fare as well as lots of arty and indie
product. Their exit from the property in 2011 was discussed by Nicole Sperling in "Laemmle Theatres to vacate Sunset 5; Sundance to take over lease,"a November 3 story for the L.A. Times:
"It's the end of an era for a West Hollywood movie house that has been a mainstay of the independent cinema scene for the last 20 years. Laemmle Theatres will stop operating the Sunset 5 at the end of the month after being unable to come to terms with the landlord on a new lease. Robert Redford's Sundance Cinemas will take over the five-screen complex Dec. 1 and will temporarily close it for renovations, with plans to reopen in late spring. This marks the entry of Westlake Village-based exhibitor into the Los Angeles area. Sundance Cinemas operates theaters in Madison, Wis., San Francisco and Houston.
"Although the Sunset 5 will remain operational, the loss of Laemmle as its programmer marks a significant shift for the independent film business in the Los Angeles area. Filmmakers such as Catherine Hardwicke ("Thirteen"), Bryan Singer ("The Usual Suspects") and Bill Condon ("Gods and Monsters") had their films premiere at the movie house on Sunset Boulevard near Crescent Heights. 'I've seen so many inspiring films at the Sunset 5 -- movies you couldn't see anywhere else,' Hardwicke said. 'Then I got lucky and my directorial debut, "Thirteen," screened there. It was a real honor to do a Q&A in this iconic indie theatre. I even had a heckler in a fake beard and mustache and a stalker chick that made her own fliers for the screening. I'll miss the Laemmle vibe, but I'm glad to hear that the theater will reopen in the spring.'
"Over the years, the programming for the theater became more of a challenge as first-rate art house titles were attracted to higher-end cinemas in the area, specifically Pacific Theatres at the Grove, which took over the location in late 2002; the Arclight Hollywood, which opened in 2003; and the Landmark Theatres on Pico Boulevard, which launched in 2007. 'Ever since the Arclight and the Grove opened, we lost some attendance,' said Greg Laemmle, president of Laemmle Theatres. 'We still had hit films such as "Monster" [starring Charlize Theron] and "Half Nelson" [starring Ryan Gosling] along the way. But we started seeing fewer and fewer of them. Distributors were under pressure to get into the Arclight.'
"Recently, the theater has been more of a destination for smallest-budgeted indie films entering their second run after opening at the larger chains first. Currently, Roadside Attractions' drama 'Margin Call' is playing at the theater, as is Sony Classics' 'Take Shelter.' 'It’s the end of the era,' said Tom Bernard, co-president of Sony Pictures Classics. 'All of our movies eventually went through the Sunset. Laemmle was our guy. He really programmed for his audience, and they were always very selective. There were few screens that programmed for specialized product back then.'
"Laemmle plans to open a new seven-screen theater in North Hollywood by the end of the year. The theater, Laemmle said, will be 'simple, clean, utilitarian and well-located to provide an authentic experience for the people in the neighborhood.' The exhibitor intends to bring its same eclectic approach to movie programming to the new site. It's unclear how Sundance Cinemas, which opened its first theater in 2007, will avoid a similar fate at the Sunset location. The company has renovated existing theaters and built new ones, specializing in upscale food and drink options and reserved seating, similar to the Arclight.
"The renovated Sunset 5 may fit in well with the surrounding mall, which includes a Trader Joe's store and a Burke Williams spa. Sundance Cinemas also offers a slew of alternative programming, lectures and screening series, taking advantage of Redford's annual Sundance film festival in Park City, Utah, and the Sundance television channel. 'Maybe fresh blood will bring new life into the theater and come new cash too,' Sony's Bernard said. 'A face lift on the theater may attract new audiences and make it a place to be.'"
This article appeared in the Times on August 25, 2012. Thanks to Scott Weinfeld for locating it.
The complex under Sundance management ran pretty much the same mix of product as under the Laemmles. They upgraded the food and beverage service to include liquor and a wider variety of food. The Sundance circuit was purchased by Carmike Cinemas in 2015. Variety had a story about the $36 million transaction.
In 2017 AMC ended up with this one when they acquired the Carmike circuit. AMC soon ramped up the food service and for a while the venue was called the AMC Dine-In Sunset 5. They later backed off from that and deleted the "dine-in," calling it the AMC Sunset 5. AMC was programming some artie releases but also lots of mainstream product.
AMC's last day of operation was April 16, 2023.
Landmark Theatres announced in February 2023 that they signed a ten year lease on the property that would become effective in June. Deadline shared the news with Anthony D'Allesandro's February 13 story "Landmark Theatres Increses L.A. Footprint: Arthouse Exhibitor Taking Over AMC's Sunset 5." He noted:
"Once Landmark occupies the Sunset 5, it will begin adding new seating and various amenities as the venue remains open for business. Landmark inked a 10-year lease on the venue which was negotiated and secured by Michael Fant, Landmark’s EVP of Real Estate, and Kimco Realty on behalf of the Sunset Theatre landlord."
Kevin Holloway is the CEO of Landmark. Since 2018 the circuit has been a division of Cohen Media Group.
Status: The opening day at the Landmark Theatres Sunset was June 16, 2023 with an "Asteroid City" pop-up event and the Wes Anderson film on all five screens.
The south side of the lobby. The auditoria are off to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020
A Laemmle-era auditorium view by Katie that once appeared on the Yelp page for the Sunset. This was the big one: 290 seats at the time. Yelp has more than 80 photos of the complex on their page.
More exterior views:
2012 - A shot on a page from the Happy Hour Tour. They were making a stop at the Malibu Fish Grill.
2016 - This photo by Serhil Kyslyakov appears on Google Maps.
2023 - The entrance up on the second floor as they get ready for the reopening. The guy on the phone on the right is on the tech crew and looking for some missing computer cable for the booth. "Asteroid City" murals were going up on the doors. Photo: Bill Counter - June 9
We're in line at the boxoffice for "Texas Chainsaw Massacre" in Willard Carroll's "Playing by Heart (Miramax, 1998). Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe will be joining us shortly.
Angelina Jolie and Ryan Phillippe leaving the Sunset 5 in "Playing By Heart." They're heading down to the "Prince" level of the garage, where she's pretending her car has been stolen. We also visit the Geffen and the Mayan Theatre in the film. See the Historic L.A. Theatres In Movies post for shots at those theatres.
More Information: See the Cinema Treasures page on the Sunset 5.
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Last day for AMC Sunset was today, April 16. Is Landmark planning to renovate the theatre over the next few months? Will they play any blockbusters, or only indies?
ReplyDeleteThanks for the AMC closure news -- I hadn't been paying attention. Landmark hasn't announced any plans that I'm aware of about how much renovation they'll do. It'll be like the situation in Pasadena -- wait and show up when it reopens and take a look. As far as bookings, I'd imagine it'll be a mix of mainstream and art product much like we used to see at the Landmark on Pico.
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