TCL Chinese Theatre
6925 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
6925 Hollywood Boulevard,
Los Angeles,
CA
90028
161 people
favorited this theater
Showing 1 - 25 of 1,682 comments
Seating Capacity:
Theatre 1 448 Dolby Atmos and 35MM Equppped
Theatre 2 100
Theatre 3, 4 and 5 174
Theatre 6 269
TCL Chinese Theatre 986 IMAX LASER
20 photos from the August 15,1939 Los Angeles premiere of “The Wizard of Oz” via Facebook. Description courtesy Historic Retro Stardust:
“The L.A. premiere of "The Wizard of Oz” on August 15, 1939, marked a significant moment in film history, celebrated at Sid Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. This iconic event showcased the film’s star-studded cast and attracted attention from both Hollywood elites and fans. The widow of L. Frank Baum, the original author of the Oz books, attended the premiere, highlighting the deep connection between the film and its literary roots. Filming took place at MGM Studios in Culver City in 1938, where groundbreaking techniques were used, including the innovative use of Technicolor. The film’s production was a meticulous process, from casting to scoring, with Herbert Stothart composing the memorable score. Behind-the-scenes images capture this cinematic journey, reflecting the collaborative effort that brought this timeless classic to life."
https://www.facebook.com/100063638482927/posts/1183682163763055/?rdid=e74zajeOCVsMAUMF
CT Crouch, thanks to your post I contacted the management and arranged to meet them the next day. The following day I brought in Signmakers, a company I have used for multiple theatre marquee jobs, they assessed the situation, and did the repairs early on Sunday using a special boom to prevent damage to the forecourt. The original gong is formed metal over wood, the original metal was bent back in place and any exposed wood was touched up. The gong is secure and not in danger.
After a few days of cordoning off the area directly below the gong a repair was completed.
CtCrouch, thanks for noticing. In case no one told them I’ve informed my contacts at the Chinese that it needs to be dealt with ASAP and will let you all know what I find out.
Walking past the theatre this afternoon 1/27/25, I noticed that the exterior “gong” has suffered some visible damage. As I pass the theatre on a daily basis and hadn’t noticed the damage before, I assume this is very recent. Whether this is the result of age/deterioration, an accident, or the recent Santa Ana winds is unclear. Pictures added to the photo section.
The foreground was blocked off today, The entrance had a mock up of the Roman coliseum in front, complete with statues.
Above the entry way was “Enter the Arena in IMAX”
It cracks me up this m00se1111 person hiding behind a screen name thinks Wikipedia is a more credible resource than the guy who has written 1,000+ articles on the subject of motion picture distribution and exhibition. Anyway, you guys are forgetting/overlooking the fact CHINATOWN was released before nationwide saturation releases were common. Here’s an overview/breakdown of CHINATOWN’s release in the top North American markets and initial weeks of its release:
June 20th … New York City
June 21st … Los Angeles
June 26th … Atlanta, Baltimore, Boston, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dayton, Des Moines, Detroit, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Louisville, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Portland, Rochester, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Seattle, Toledo, Washington DC
June 27th … Dallas
June 28th … Albuquerque, Charlotte, Houston, Indianapolis, Memphis, Montreal, New Orleans, Toronto
July 3rd … Austin, Sacramento, San Antonio
July 10th … Omaha, Salt Lake City
July 12th … Chicago, Miami, Minneapolis, St. Louis, Vancouver
July 19th … Denver
August 21st … Honolulu
And on and on and on….
Just because it was released on the 20th doesn’t mean it played at the Chinese on that date. I agree that it probably would have started on Friday the 21st that’s how things worked in those days. It could have run somewhere else on Thursday the 20th but new movies usually opened on Friday.
I’d trust my friend Kurt’s site over Wikipedia any day. He shows every movie ever played at the Chinese. Here is the page on 1974: http://graumanschinese.org/1974.html. It shows Chinatown opening on Friday June 21, 1974. As I remember , opening days were usually Friday, until they started doing midnight shows on Thursday and sneaking earlier to make the opening weekend BO numbers look better.
Guess they got it a day late, or the wikipedia page needs an update.
“Chinatown was released in the United States on June 20, 1974, to acclaim from critics. ”
CHINATOWN opened here fifty years ago today.
Exactly Escott. My point wasn’t that more people had watched Oppenheimer than any other movie at The Chinese before, obviously, inflation plays a part in that. The point was that over a decade ago, there was a real concern about whether the theater could even stay afloat amid competition from the Arclight and terrible bookings. There was a real and justified concern that The Grauman’s Chinese Theater, the most famous theater in the world, could become a nightclub or live events venue. The IMAX conversion, which opened a decade ago yesterday, ended up being just what the theater needed to finally consistently book good shows and attract audience attraction. Star Wars probably sold more tickets, fine, but it’s still great that in the year of our Lord 2023, a digital era where IP drives the market and the industry is recovering from a global pandemic, The Chinese is still able to sell out a beautiful 70mm print of a new prestige drama from the most high profile director in the world right now. They sold out a special engagement for RRR almost a year ago. The cinema is getting the newest and hottest studio releases consistently and gets good business from them. The Chinese is a far cry from the state it was in 11 years ago, and I think that’s worth celebrating.
For me what is wonderful is that the historic Chinese Theatre has been selling out a science movie for months. It was a brilliant presentation, I was there for the projector load in and watched it twice with a full house. Yes, they have had 24 hour screenings of other movies, but they were all franchise sequels, not a one-off movie about a real life scientist.
Lots of people are claiming lots of firsts, it is all PR spin. I doubt that a 2 month run could ever sell more tickets than a year long run, different capacity, different ticket prices. The record I heard and believe is that this was the highest grossing single screen for THIS movie. That makes sense. The fact is that a science movie was filling the seats at the most historic of theatres, that people were going back multiple times for the experience, and everyone I have spoken to was glad they saw it at the Chinese!
Star Wars had a record run at the Chinese. It ran around the clock for months. West Side Story did not run shows at two in the morning. Adjusted for inflation Star Wars holds the record for most money. It also holds the record for number of tickets sold for a single movie. It also started a fight between the Chinese and Fox when they had to move it to another theater for six weeks.
I wonder if West Side Story (1961) holds the record for number of admissions. It played at the Chinese for an entire year.
About a month ago several media outlets prematurely and erroneously reported OPPENHEIMER had become the Chinese’s top-grossing movie. At the time OPPENHEIMER’s accomplishment was simply that it had become the venue’s top-grossing movie for the TCL/IMAX period of the past decade or so, but it got mis-reported as being the record for the venue’s near-100-year history. It probably is #1 by now.
OPPENHEIMER being #1 for the venue’s near-100-year history is a dubious accomplishment, though, when you consider the decades of inflation and the IMAX surcharge. In terms of tickets sold, OPPENHEIMER can’t be anywhere near being the venue’s record.
Anyway, what was the Chinese’s final box-office gross for OPPENHEIMER? For it to be the venue’s #1-grossing booking I believe it needed to exceed $2,414,972, which is what STAR WARS earned there during 1977-78.
Following the pandemic and slow return to theatre going over the past few years, it was definitely encouraging to see Oppenheimer cause such a sensation at the Chinese. As for the historic attendance vs modern revenue disparity, that also reflects the industry’s overall focus shift. The exhibition industry has become far more focused on per capita income than raw attendance in the post megaplex era; the Chinese’s remodel sacrificing seating volume for a “premium” experience exemplifies this business model shift.
True, but a record’s a record, and I just thought it was fitting that this technically record run for the Chinese was ending so close to the 10th Anniversary of the renovation. Still, even with a lack of numbers on attendance, Oppenheimer’s 70mm run here was definitely popular and in demand, see the round the clock screenings during the first week to keep up with demand for the film.
Highest grossing run in history doesn’t really tell us much. The true test of popularity is how many people actually attended, not how much they paid in total receipts. Ticket prices are at their very highest in history, so just a small sum like $1 million can be run up very fast.
Today marks the 10th Anniversary of the reopening of the theater after the IMAX renovation. In a few days, it will also mark the end of the highest-grossing run in this theater’s history, as Oppenheimer in the splendor of 70mm comes to an end at the Chinese after 2 months. Quite the recovery for the theater. It’s incredible reading about the state of the struggling theater 10+ years ago, and see how far it’s come.
PR is a big game, always has been! The good news is that going to the movies in a fabulous theatre IS news again, and people are coming in droves! I just got back from the Chinese and it’s fantastic to see so many people there! As for facts, the media frequently exaggerates to make headlines, that’s just the way it is. They even misquoted the PR man for the Chinese who is a friend of mine, one article said he was the IMAX spokesperson! Here are the FACTS as I see them, we have a good summer’s worth of quality films that are getting butts in seats and selling popcorn, and as an advocate for historic theatres, that is the best news ever after surviving a pandemic!
mOOse1111 the media doesn’t seem to care anymore about getting it right
I remember seeing a 2:30 AM screening of ATTACK OF THE CLONES with a packed house back in 2002
That gets one to wonder, did Roger contact KTLA, KNX, KABC, etc with this issue if it is ruffling his feathers so. If you’ve not been paying attention, the media gets ALOT wrong of late, and do not give a tinker’s cuss about it.