 Playhouse 7 in Pasadena, California | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Entertainment |
| Founded | 1938; 87 years ago (1938) |
| Founder | Max and Kurt Laemmle |
Area served | Los Angeles, California |
| Services | Movie theater,Academy Award qualification |
| Owner | Robert and Greg Laemmle |
| Website | www |
Laemmle Theatres (/ˈlɛmli/LEM-lee) is aLos Angeles-basedarthousemovie theater chain owned and operated by Robert Laemmle and his son Greg. The company's first theater, bought in 1938[1] by Robert's father Max and uncle Kurt, both cousins ofUniversal Pictures founderCarl Laemmle, was located inHighland Park.
Laemmle Theatres currently has seven locations:
The Laemmle Grande 4-Plex on SouthFigueroa Street closed October 25, 2009 asL.A. Live'sRegal Cinema complex was set to open.[1]
In December 2011, theGlendale City Council and Redevelopment Agency approved a $12.8 million[2] development that included 42 residential units, a 5-screen Laemmle theater, and aPanda Inn. Construction began in mid-2015[3] and the complex opened in August 2018.[4]
Construction of Newhall 7 was completed in 2020, but its opening was delayed due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[5] It opened on April 9, 2021[6] and with Glendale 5 reopening on May 21, 2021, Laemmle Theatres resumed operating all its locations that had been open prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]
Playhouse 7 in Pasadena ceased operations as a Laemmle location in June 2022.[8]
During the 21st century, the Laemmle venues have come to be known as the "Secret Path to Oscar Qualifying" since they have been repeatedly used byindependent films,short films, anddocumentaries for that purpose.[9] Laemmle provides services designed to enable a film to qualify forAcademy Awards,[10] charging aflat rate for exhibition while giving the film's producers 100 percent of thebox office receipts; they have someone meet every year with the Academy committees in all the categories to ensure their "qualifying run" bookings actually qualify. They even help film-makers book their films outside of their own theaters if a committee requires that.[9]
Laemmle Theatres are the subject of the 2022 documentaryOnly in Theaters, directed byRaphael Sbarge.[11][12]
In 2024, Greg Laemmle andRaphael Sbarge started the podcastInside the Arthouse, recorded inside[13] the Laemmle Royal. The podcast is an insider's perspective on filmmakers and those responsible for screening arthouse films across the United States.