Kristen Stewart has purchased a long-shuttered Los Angeles movie theatre, hoping to restore it as a community space rooted in film culture.
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Kristen Stewart is adding a new title to her resume, cinema owner. The actor and filmmaker has purchased a long-closed movie theatre in Los Angeles, stepping into a growing movement of artists determined to protect the city’s fading moviegoing spaces.
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The theatre, which shut down in 2024 just months before reaching its 100-year milestone, had been sitting in disrepair when Stewart decided to step in.
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Stewart admits the decision came from instinct more than planning. Speaking in an Architectural Digest profile, she said she has always been captivated by abandoned theatres and the stories they quietly hold.
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“I’m fascinated by broken-down old theatres,” she said. “I always want to see what mysteries they hold.” She added that she hadn’t set out to buy a cinema, until this one crossed her path. “I didn’t realize I was looking for a theatre until this place came to my attention. Then it felt immediate. I ran toward it with everything I had.”
The building dates back to Hollywood’s early studio era. Designed by architect Lewis Arthur Smith, it was one of several Los Angeles cinemas constructed in the 1920s. The venue first opened its doors on March 2, 1925, with a screening of Lady of the Night.
Despite years of neglect, Stewart says the structure still carries remarkable charm, with architectural details that deserve careful restoration.
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For Stewart, the project isn’t about prestige or exclusivity. She envisions the theatre as a shared space, one that belongs as much to the neighbourhood as it does to film lovers.
“We want it to be a family affair,” she said. “Something for the community. It’s not just for pretentious Hollywood cinephiles.” She described the space as a counterbalance to corporate entertainment, a place focused on gathering, creativity and shared experience rather than profit alone.
Stewart joins a growing list of filmmakers investing in Los Angeles’ historic theatres. Quentin Tarantino owns both the New Beverly Cinema and the Vista Theatre, while a collective that includes Jason Reitman, Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan and Bradley Cooper recently purchased the Fox Village Theatre in Westwood.
The trend signals a renewed commitment to preserving theatrical spaces in an era increasingly dominated by streaming.
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Stewart, a Los Angeles native, says her affection for the city runs deep. “It’s not really a city as much as a cluster of neighbourhoods,” she said, “but there’s unity in that.”
She added that LA’s openness allows people to shape spaces in meaningful ways, a philosophy she hopes will guide the theatre’s future.
Meanwhile, Stewart’s latest directorial effort, The Chronology of Water, starring Imogen Poots, is currently playing in theatres. She is also set to appear in The Wrong Girls, directed by her wife Dylan Meyer, a project the couple co-wrote together.
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