Malibu Cinemas

 3822 Cross Creek Rd. Malibu, CA 90265 | map |

Opened: 1972 as the Malibu Cinema in the Malibu Village shopping center. It was a single screen operation of Betty and David O'Meara that was franchised by United General Theatres. Joe Vogel located an item in the February 5, 1973 issue of Boxoffice that said: "Owner of the recently opened Malibu Cinema, a United General Theatres Franchise operation, is David O'Meara…."  

The original building was rebuilt after a 2005 fire. This 2016 image is from Google Maps 

Seating: The original theatre was 250 as a single screen operation. Joe Vogel spotted a letter from David O'Meara in a February 1982 issue of Boxoffice giving that seat count. It's unknown what the capacity was after twinning. After a 2005 fire the rebuilt theatre got leather recliners with food trays. The capacity was then down to somewhere around 50 + 20.

Architect: Unknown 

Betty and David O'Meara ran the house for nearly 20 years. He had been a salesman before getting into the theatre business. He died in 1993 at age 64. Betty, who was born in Japan and had once worked for General Douglas MacArthur, died at age 94 in the 2025 Palisades fire after refusing to evacuate. They were profiled by James Rainey in the February 3, 2025 L.A. Times article: "Malibu movie theater owner, with a ‘servant’s heart,’ died in the Palisades fire."

Betty and David O'Meara with their daughter Frances in 1979. The photo from the Frances O'Meara collection appears with the Times article. Some of the story's comments about the theatre's early operation: 

 

"Betty O’Meara’s signature was a resolute brand of hospitality. It blossomed with her friends and umpteen pen pals and reached full flower at the Malibu Cinema, the movie theater that she and her husband operated for two decades in the heart of Malibu. At the cozy cinema on Cross Creek Road, you could take in a double feature for less than $5, sit in an audience that might include Bob Dylan, Dyan Cannon or Burt Lancaster and be tickled by the squawking of the cockatoo that made its home atop the snack counter.

"The theater was a cherished gathering place for a town filled with people who often had moved to Malibu from somewhere else. 'In those days, nobody was from here. We didn’t have a community center,' said actor Martin Sheen, a longtime friend of O’Meara’s from Our Lady of Malibu Catholic Church. 'That was kind of a meeting spot. That was kind of where we came together.'...

"David... loved the movie business and the famous neighbors who became his patrons. He ran the theater with love and a parsimonious budget, meaning that the ticket salesperson sometimes also ran the snack stand and tended the projector. The light staffing meant the projector sometimes went unnoticed, as the film’s first reel ran out. Audiences were not infrequently treated to a blackened screen and the slap-slap-slapping of a spent film, spinning away, unattended...

"As an independent, the theater struggled to get the most popular films. But Betty O’Meara would remind the studios that the audience at the 200-plus-seat theater included voters from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.... The O’Mearas and their children, also theater employees, welcomed the bold-faced names, but that didn’t mean they got special treatment. The younger David O’Meara recalled the time his father asked Lancaster to step outside to the sidewalk, because the Hollywood legend was gobbling down an ice cream cone from the neighboring Swensen’s shop. Malibu Cinema did not allow food from the outside. No exceptions.

"Like today, Malibu brimmed with celebrities, but in the pre-Instagram era they tended to come and go without media histrionics. Barbra Streisand. Lee Marvin. Paul Newman. They all came. Without personal assistants. Without bodyguards. Without trailing paparazzi. Frances O’Meara sometimes worked the snack counter and vividly recalls the time a man in an elegant silver Porsche double-parked behind her father’s car. It turned out to be Newman, who bounded into the theater, just to ask for a handful of popcorn. (The star was taste-testing as he prepared to launch his “Newman’s Own” popcorn.)..."

Betty, in an undated photo from the collection of her daughter Frances.  

Thanks to Donavan S. Moye for locating the article on the Times website. It appeared in the paper's print edition on February 5.

The O'Mearas sold in 1991 to Wallace Theatres. Under Wallace ownership it became the WTC Malibu Theatre. 

 

It was twinned in 1992. After the October 2 reopening it was advertised as the Wallace New Malibu Cinema 2 and the New Malibu Theatre 2. The Wallace firm morphed into Hollywood Theatres and it became the Hollywood Malibu Cinemas.

 

A 2003 lobby view. Thanks to Ron Pierce for sharing his photo on Cinema Tour. 

The 2005 Fire: The theatre and several adjacent stores burned in an April 2005 fire. They reopened in 2006. The Malibu Times had the story in "Reel good news: Movie theater returns to Malibu next month," an October 25, 2006 post from 13starsManager:

"Hollywood Theaters, owner of the Cross Creek Plaza movie theater, announced this week that the facility will reopen on Nov. 17. The theater has been closed since April 2005, when a fire destroyed it and several other businesses in the mall.

"An official from the Portland, Ore.-based Hollywood Theaters said she could not disclose anything beyond that the theater would be opening. She said she might have more information next week. John Hunter, Hollywood Theaters CEO, told The Malibu Times in June that the theater would open with a Hollywood premiere. He also promised a significant upgrade to the theater’s seats, sound and food.

"The April 17, 2005 fire damaged or destroyed nearly a third of Malibu’s Cross Creek Plaza as well as six vehicles. Nobody was injured in the blaze. Los Angeles County Fire Department officials determined it was started by an electrical malfunction in the building."

Regal became the operator in 2013 when they bought Hollywood Theatres. They advertised it as the Regal Malibu Twin. In their story "Regal acquires Malibu Cinemas’ parent company," the Malibu Times noted:

"Regal acquired Hollywood Theaters for $191 million cash and $47 million in lease obligations. With the purchase, Regal takes in 43 added theaters with 513 movie screens. Before the purchase, Regal owned 6,880 screens at 540 theaters. The majority of Hollywood Theaters’ cinemas are located in Hawaii, Kansas, Texas and Missouri, making Malibu a unique California location for the company."

The theatre was profiled in "Malibu Likely to Lose its Only Movie Theater," a January 2017 Malibu Times article:

"Sources say the days are numbered for Malibu’s only movie theater, the two-screen Regal Malibu Twin located in the Malibu Village shopping center — which is a big deal in a town where so many residents work in the movie biz. The 25-year lease the movie theater had enjoyed expired at the end of 2016, and the space will be operating month-to-month until at least the end of June. In an attempt to rent the space to another movie theater chain, management of the Malibu Village, Jamestown Property Management, has made the contacts, but in the current market, their hands are tied. They say the existing space is simply too small for potential tenants to make any profit, so they’re not getting any bites. 

"The business model for today’s film exhibitors is based on large multiplex or megaplex theater complexes. 'We’ve reached out to a number of tenants in the theater space to replace Regal and there has not been any serious interest given the challenges of operating a small movie theater,' a spokesperson for Jamestown said. 'In the meantime, we have reduced Regal’s rent by 75 percent in order to keep them from leaving immediately.' Jamestown went on to explain, 'While the Malibu community does support the theater, Regal has determined that the current business model isn’t financially viable. They don’t get enough patrons and haven’t seen a payback for putting in amenities like reclining seats, new projection equipment, and beer and wine service that many competitor theaters have installed to continue attracting customers.'

"Size is likely the issue. 'Movie theaters typically require a minimum of 15,000 to 25,000 square feet to accommodate more screens and more amenities like better concessions and larger seats,' Jamestown added. 'The current space, which is only 4,000 square feet, does not allow for this, and Jamestown does not have the development rights to add to the existing square footage.' Jamestown is more than aware of the public relations problem it may have on its hands at the departure of a popular community-serving business. With no movie theater in town, residents will have to drive at least 40 minutes to get to another movie theater. In addition, if the theater is replaced by another Rodeo Drive-type retailer, it would add fuel to the fire of the local movement to have more control over commercial real estate via a city chain store ordinance along the lines of Measure R.

"Acknowledging the problem, Jamestown said they are 'committed to finding the right fit for a new tenant for the space — a business that fits within the fabric of the community. We are talking widely to the market and are looking at creative options,' the spokesperson said. 'Our track record of keeping local businesses... speak to this effort.' David Lyons, who managed Malibu's theater from the local and corporate levels when it was still run by Wallace Theater Corp. (later known as Hollywood Theaters), said in a phone interview that Malibu had the 'least-highest revenues' of any complex they had, but that it set the pace for the rest of the chain’s theaters. 'Even though I was involved with 700 screens in 13 states, the film conversation started every Monday with what was happening in Malibu, because of its high concentration of industry professionals,' Lyons said. 'Unfortunately, to be successful today, you need eight to 10 screens. It’s not in any chain’s interest to operate a small theater in a competitive environment.'

"Fortunately, the impending loss of the theater doesn’t mean the end of movies on the big screen in Malibu. The success of the local Malibu Film Society means that residents do have another option for seeing first-run films. MFS’s Malibu Screening Room, which operates from about September to April each year, shows more than 60 films per year, including numerous sneak previews and nearly all of the top Golden Globe and Academy Award contenders...."

Closing: September 10, 2017. See "Malibu Cinemas Will Close For Good This Weekend," a September 7, 2017 Malibu Times story. Also see their November 2017 story "Malibu Movie Memories." While the text is intact, these Malibu Times stories are now missing their photos.

The building became a Fred Segal store. As of 2025 it's vacant. The store closed in July 2024. See the August 1 Malibu Times story "Fred Segal permantly shuts its doors in Malibu." 

 

More exterior views: 

2001 - The pre-fire look of the building. It's a shot located by Ken McIntyre. 

 

2003 - Thanks to Ron Pierce for sharing this photo on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre. In addition to his 2003 photos he also has some 2011 views on the page. 

 

 

2003 - A closer marquee view. Photo: Ron Pierce - Cinema Tour

 

 

 

2003 - The boxoffice. Photo: Ron Pierce - Cinema Tour. Thanks! 

 

 

 

2008 - The look of the building after the rebuild following the 2005 fire. Thanks to Joan S. for sharing this shot on the Yelp page about the theatre.

2012 - A shot by Dmytro appearing on the Foursquare City Guide page about the theatre. 

 

 

2013 - A peek into the lobby shared by Mike D. on Foursquare.

 

 

2014 - A shot from Mike I. that he shared on Yelp.

2014 - An entrance view from Jeannie N. on  Foursquare. 

 

 

 

2016 - Signage for the twin on the PCH. Photo: Google Maps

 

 

 

2016 - Looking west in the center toward the theatres. That's Cross Creek Rd. beyond the theatre. Photo: Google Maps

 

 

2016 -  A facade view from the site Main Course. In the left display case that's a poster for "La La Land." Thanks to Jack Coursey for sharing this photo on Cinema Treasures. 

2016 -  The side of the theatre. Thanks to Jack Coursey for sharing this photo from Main Course on Cinema Treasures.

 

2016 - On the left we're looking north on Cross Creek. Photo: Google Maps 

 

 

2016 - The back of the building in a view toward PCH. Photo: Google Maps 

 

2023 - The Fred Segal store in the former theatre building getting a remodel in October. Photo: Google Maps. They closed in July 2024. See the August 1 Malibu Times story "Fred Segal permantly shuts its doors in Malibu."

More Information: See the Cinema Treasures and Cinema Tour pages about the theatre. There's also a Yelp page.

The L.A. Times article "A century of Malibu wildfires..." looks at the many times the community has had fire damage.

| back to top | Along the Coast | Westwood and Brentwood | Westside theatres | Westside theatres: alphabetical list | Westside theatres: by street address | Hollywood | Downtown theatres | [more] Los Angeles movie palaces | L.A. Theatres: main alphabetical list | L.A. Theatres: list by address | theatre history resources | film and theatre tech resources | theatres in movies | LA Theatres on facebook | contact info | welcome and site navigation guide |