Regal Cinemas at L.A. Live

1000 W. Olympic Blvd.  Los Angeles, CA 90015 | map |

The News: One auditorium, presumably the Premiere house, will get re-branded as an Imax venue and be both film and digital capable. It currently has a 70' screen -- after renovations they're saying it will be 80.' The Sherman Oaks Galleria is another of the Regal houses to get the upgrade, but not for film. Currently there are only 30 locations worldwide that show Imax 70mm film. In "Regal Adds Four Imax Theaters in U.S....," a May 19, 2025 article in The Hollywood Reporter by Etan Vlessing, they note: 

"The second-largest movie theater chain in the U.S. has expanded its partnership with the wide-screen exhibitor for new laser projection screen locations in Los Angeles, Houston and Washington, D.C. Expanding its longstanding partnership with Imax signals Regal is back spending on upgrades to its domestic circuit after parent Regal Cineworld emerged from its financial restructuring process.

"That includes turbocharging the theatrical movie experience with premium experiences like Imax and other investments. 'At Regal, we are committed to providing the latest and most innovative technologies in our theatres with the overall goal of delivering the best moviegoing experience for our guests,' Eduardo Acuna, CEO of the Regal Cineworld Group, said in a statement."  

Thanks to Joel Pell for spotting the story for a post on the Cinema Tour Facebook page. He also located the Stock Titan article "Regal and Imax Expand Partnership...," in which it's asserted that the L.A. Live location, in addition to having dual laser digital machines, will also be Imax 70mm film capable, a point missed in the THR story. From Stock Titan: :  

 

"New Agreement Includes Bringing Imax 70mm Film to Iconic L.A. Live Entertainment Complex. Regal Cinemas and Imax today announced an expansion of their longstanding partnership with an agreement for four new Imax® with Laser locations in the United States’ biggest metropolitan areas. Included in the agreement, Regal will open a new Imax theatre at the iconic L.A. Live entertainment complex in Downtown Los Angeles, with an Imax 70mm film projector and 80-foot screen that will be among the largest in the city.

"The agreement will also bring new Imax locations to three of Imax’s highest grossing metropolitan areas in the country, including Regal Greenway Grand Palace in Downtown Houston; Regal Virginia Gateway in the Gainesville suburb of Washington, DC; and Regal Sherman Oaks in Los Angeles. Three of the four new Imax locations are set to open this year, with the remaining location opening in 2026." 

 

 

Opened: October 2009. The 14 screen theatre at Olympic and Georgia St. is part of the L.A. Live complex controlled by Phillip Anschutz' AEG. He sold the Regal circuit in 2017 to the British firm Cineworld Group. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

Phone: 213-763-6070, 213-763-6071     Website: www.regmovies.com/theaters
 
Seating: 3,772 seats in 14 auditoria. The largest, the Premiere Theatre, seats 806 and has a 70' wide screen.

Status: Open and running films on 14 screens. 

In August 2022 Cineworld announced that they would most likely be filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for its Regal subsidiary in the U.S. and possibly taking similar action for the parent company in the U.K. There were stories from Variety, the Wall Street Journal and the Hollywood Reporter about the chain's problems. 

 

They filed in September. The L.A. Times had a September 7 story by Ryan Faughnder headed "Regal Cinemas parent company seeks bankruptcy protection..."  The goal of the restructuring is to reduce the Cineworld debt load ( $5 billion excluding lease obligations) and renegotiate theatre leases with landlords. Ryan gave a rundown of the Regal history: 

"It’s not the first time Regal has found itself in trouble with creditors. Regal Cinemas was founded in 1989 in Knoxville, Tenn., and rode a wave of megaplex and multiplex construction in the 1990s. As the industry faced a glut of giant theaters after years of overdevelopment, Regal declared bankruptcy in 2001 amid a wave of consolidation in the exhibition business. 

 

"Regal completed its Chapter 11 reorganization and emerged from bankruptcy in 2002 under the ownership of an investor group led by billionaire Philip Anschutz, a developer of L.A. Live with a state-of-the-art Regal multiplex. In 2017, Regal agreed to be sold to Cineworld. The deal valued Regal at $3.6 billion. Cineworld is not the first theater operator to seek bankruptcy protection since the pandemic, but it is the largest to do so."

As of May 2025 Regal was operating 5,565 U.S. screens in over 400 theatres in forty-one states plus the District of Columbia and Guam.

 

Interior views:

The three-story lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Looking down from the top level of the lobby. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012

The lobby area for the Premiere Theatre. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019 

 

 

 

The entrance rotunda to the big house. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

The Premiere Theatre. Thanks to Eric Richardson for his 2009 photo on Flickr. Note the sidewall cove lighting, not currently in use. 

 

 

Another view to the rear. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

 

 

A sidewall view. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

 

 

The rear of the main floor. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

 

 

A balcony view. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

 

 

The rear of the balcony. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021 

 

 

A look toward the 70' screen in the Premiere Theatre. It's a photo that appeared in 2022 on the L.A. Live Facebook page.

The main floor corridor leading to auditoria 2 through 7. Olympic Blvd. is out the windows to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

Auditorium #2. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

The rear of auditorium #2. Photo: Bill Counter - 2019

More exterior views:

Looking west on Olympic. Photo: Bill Counter - 2012 

The 110 drive-by shot. Photo: Bill Counter - 2010

A 2009 pre-opening view. Thanks to Eric Richardson for the photo on Flickr.

 

A 2020 photo by Jay L. Glendening for the L.A. Times that appeared with "Coming....Someday. What's Next For the Movies?," an April 30, 2020 Times special report. Much of the content in the 11 articles was about what has to happen to get production started but Ryan Faughnder's article "How will movie theaters make customers feel safe after coronavirus?" was more about the theatre end of the business.

More Information: See the Cinema Tour page for 12 photos by Chris Utley. Cinema Treasures also has a page on the Regal.

The L.A. Times had a March 2014 article on Regal's plans to install a 4D auditorium in partnership with CJ Group, a Korean company. In 2015 the complex got a liquor license.

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