So Cal Cinemas University Village 3 / Flagship University 3

3323 S. Hoover St. Los Angeles, CA 90007   | map | 

Opened: October 11, 1978. Thanks to Alexander E. for sharing this 2010 shot on Yelp. 

Initially it was operated by the Sanborn family as part of their SoCal Cinemas circuit. Flagship took it over in 2006. They also had the Hawthorne 6, a former AMC house in Manhattan Beach 

In 2008 Yulree T. commented on Yelp: 

"Ggggghettooooo. Nothing good about this theater. Nada. I think everyone at USC goes here at least once in their college life...only to regret it and never return. Sticky floors, mysterious liquids falling from the ceiling, loud & obnoxious viewers, musty smell......trust me, you'd much rather save yourself a couple bucks and watch a bootlegged movie off of your laptop in the comfort of your own home. Negative stars!"

Sam Y commented in 2009: 

"It is one of the worst theaters I have ever been to. It's smelly, noisy, nasty. But tickets are 7 bucks and 5 bucks for SC students.I would only recommend it for convenience. That is all."

J.X. was there in 2012: 

"It's run down and some of the seats are broken. NOT a place to take a date, haha. However, there are certain movies that are SO much fun to watch in this theater. I remember watching 'Twilight' here and it made the movie 10 times better because of all the catcalling and random comments made by the boisterous crowd. The woman next to me was talking to herself about aliens...that was entertaining as well... To sum up: *Not a place to take a date you want to impress  *Don't watch serious movies here  *Will give you a movie theater experience that is unparalleled to the nicer places in town." 

Emily S. had this to say in 2013: 

"This theater is OK! It gets a bad rap because it's not the most clean or technologically advanced, but the fact is that you're paying $6 (cash only) as a student in LA to see a movie. And if the seats are super clean, then just wear pants that are dirty and you intend to wash soon! I've been here many times because it's close, affordable, and never packed. I recommend it for a group just out to see a movie who's not too prissy ;)."

Justin C. offered this in 2013: 

"You get what you pay for. 5 bucks gets you small screen, funky seats, and crappy workers."

Chris Utley commented in 2026: 

"This theatre is a trigger. Why? Because while the rest of you were relishing the glory days of Hollywood & Westwood palaces in the 1980’s, I was confined to this lower level lackluster last least lethargic 3 screen mono sound fixed screen shoebox because my sedentary, non-adventurous parent refused to go farther north than the USC area to see movies. 

 

"It was either this dump or the 2 South Bay area drive-ins to get my weekly movie fix. Name a title from 85-91, chances are I saw it here. Once I got my license, I hit those palaces and never looked back at this joint. Good friggin riddance!"

Closing: 2014

Status: It's been demolished. David Saffer noted: 

 

"One of just a few theatres that I was not sad to see demolished."

 

The site was redeveloped for a new-and-improved University Village with many restaurants, residential units, a Trader Joe's and a Target. But no theatre.  

 

Interior views:   

A photo from the December 11, 1978 issue of Boxoffice. Thanks to Moviejs1944 for locating this for a post on Cinema Treasures.  

 

A shot of a lobby sign that Alexander E. shared on Yelp in 2010.  

 

The seats don't look bad. But when Zenia G. shared this photo on Yelp in 2011 she noted: "The seats are really old. The cinema should be renovated."  

 

More exterior views: 

2005 - Thanks to Adam Martin for sharing this one on the Cinema Tour page about the theatre. 

 

2009 - Looking north on Hoover. Image: Google Maps 

 

2009 - A view in toward the theatre entrance. Image: Google Maps 

 

2009 - Looking in from Jefferson Blvd. That was a fire station on the far left. Image: Google Maps 

 

2014 - Thanks to Fernando A. for sharing this shot on Yelp. He noted: "It's closed! I need my cheap tickets." 

More information: See the Cinema Treasures and Cinema Tour pages about the theatre. There's also a page still up about this theatre on Yelp. 

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