Ben Steinberg has been on a mission to get his favorite theaters, Hollywood’s ArcLight Cinemas and the historic Cinerama Dome, to reopen.
After Steinberg created a petition last month that gathered more than 30,000 signatures, around 50 people showed up on Sunday after Steinberg invited supporters to gather at the Cinerama Dome for a group photo to show support for reopening.
The complex’s owner, Pacific Theatres, shut down after closing the venue during the Covid shutdown, and despite some signs over the years that remodeling was taking place, the actor and filmmaker says that from what he has observed, plans for reopening seem to be indefinitely on hold. “It was just one of my favorite places in the world,” says Steinberg.
“It’s not reopening this year, because I spoke with the property manager. I was on site and he had keys and I asked him about it and he told me there’s no plans to open,” says Steinberg, who has been working to rally support for his mission on social media since the cinemas shut down.
Larry Blum, an actor, recalls seeing “Hair” at the theater in 1979. Blum said the shuttered cinema has become “an eyesore.” Asked what brought him to the photo call, Blum said, “It deserves to be among the Chinese Theater and the Pantages in Hollywood – all the beautiful theater architecture that makes Los Angeles unique.”
The building remains boarded up. And what once used to be a bustling area on any given weekend afternoon is nearly abandoned. Only four people were dining at the nearby Veggie Grill, and Wildbird restaurant was empty.
Gunzi Merchant, a film researcher, added, “We have a lot of amazing movie palaces like the Chinese Theater and the Egyptian, but this is from a different era, the early ’60s. What’s inside is so unique and not replicated anywhere else.”
Jessica Brown came to show support for Steinberg’s mission. Brown moved to the area at the start of 2020 and saw Damien Chazelle’s “First Man” at the Cinerama Dome. “I lived up in the North Bay area, and one of the movie theaters closed down, it became a Dick’s Sporting Goods, and I don’t want to see that happen here,” said Brown.
Jessica Brown holds a Save the Cinerama Dome sign
Jazz Tangcay
Though Pacific Theatres shut down, the property is still owned by parent company the Decurion Corporation, run by Christopher Forman. Decurion had no comment on Steinberg’s campaign.
Steinberg says that according to the workers at the complex he has spoken to, Decurion is unwilling to either sell or reopen the theaters, though he says there has been interest in the property from buyers. “I think it’s very unfair to the people of Los Angeles,” he says.
As a privately-owned property, Decurion is of course under no obligation to sell or reopen the complex. But Steinberg hopes that movie lovers and filmmakers can make enough noise to make a difference.
In 2023, it seemed possible that the Cinerama Dome would be reopening in 2025. It was announced that the remodeled complex would be renamed Cinerama Hollywood and a liquor license application was posted back in 2021. Steinberg contends that according to his information, contracts for the remodel have lapsed.
As theaters continue to struggle in the aftermath of the pandemic, Los Angeles residents hold out hope hope that the Cinerama Dome and ArcLight theaters may someday return. In the meantime, the AMCs at the Grove, Burbank and Century City locations have taken over major bookings and many premieres, while independent films face a challenging market. But it’s too soon to say whether the secretive Decurion Corp. will be swayed by Steinberg’s campaign.
