The Los Angeles cinema calendar in September 2026 splits between a wave of new tentpole releases and a deep bench of revival screenings - the two halves of a city that watches new releases and decades-old classics with equal seriousness. This is a month-by-month look at what is actually on the city's screens, drawn from the screenings listed on Mood, and it updates at the start of each month.
The scale is the backdrop. In Mood's data, 12,336 screenings run across 155 LA cinemas this month, from first-run multiplexes to single-screen revival houses. What follows is what is drawing the crowds and what is worth seeking out.
The new-release tier
No single film runs away with September the way Spider-Man did in August. Coyote vs. Acme leads the new tentpoles with 1,021 showings across 96 cinemas, just ahead of the horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further at 938 showings and the thriller The Dog Stars at 916. Spider-Man: Brand New Day, August's runaway leader with 5,334 showings, has fallen to 1,171 as its run winds down - a reminder that even the biggest tentpole's dominance in Mood's data is a matter of weeks, not months.
Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey is the one holdover still performing like a new release two months in, with 845 showings across 85 cinemas. Behind the top tier, the action film Mutiny and the family-animated PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie each pass 600 September showings, while Toy Story 5 and Minions & Monsters carry the tail end of August's family slate into a smaller run of screens.
The revival calendar
The more interesting half of the month is the repertory programming, and it runs regardless of the season. The clearest example this September is a run through the entire Harry Potter saga: Philosopher's Stone leads with 83 showings across 28 cinemas, followed by Prisoner of Azkaban at 45 and Deathly Hallows: Part 1 at 50, with the remaining four films filling out smaller runs across the same revival houses - seven films, one franchise, tracked screening by screening in Mood's data in a way no single competitor listing site does.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day holds over from August with 106 showings across 44 cinemas, and Braveheart and Jurassic Park each run smaller anniversary-style bookings. The anime and arthouse end runs just as deep, with Ghost in the Shell and Princess Mononoke both back on LA screens this month, alongside a run of Star Trek revivals - The Wrath of Khan, The Voyage Home and The Motion Picture - filling out a science-fiction thread that sits next to the Harry Potter marathon rather than competing with it.
The month in short
September 2026 is a more crowded new-release month than August at the top - no single film clears even a fifth of the calendar - and a franchise-marathon month underneath, with Harry Potter and Star Trek both running multi-film retrospectives across the city's revival houses. For anyone in the city, the useful move is still the same: decide whether the night is a new release on the biggest screen or a classic in a revival house, since both are running, most nights, somewhere within reach.
Mood pulls the whole month into one place, so the full list of LA cinemas and what each is showing sit together rather than scattered across theatre pages.
Frequently Asked Questions
What movies are playing in Los Angeles this month?
In September 2026, the LA calendar is led by "Coyote vs. Acme", with "Insidious: Out of the Further", "The Dog Stars" and Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey" close behind. Underneath the new releases, revival houses run the entire Harry Potter saga plus classics like "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" and "Jurassic Park". 12,336 screenings are listed across 155 LA cinemas this month on Mood.
What is the most popular film in LA right now?
By screening volume, "Coyote vs. Acme" leads the new-release tier this month in Mood's data, with 1,021 showings across 96 cinemas. "Spider-Man: Brand New Day", August's dominant title, has fallen to 1,171 showings as its run winds down, while "The Odyssey" continues performing like a new release two months into its run.
Where can I see classic movies in LA this month?
LA's revival houses program classics year-round. This month the calendar includes a full run through the Harry Potter series, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" on 44 screens, and smaller anniversary bookings for "Braveheart", "Jurassic Park", "Ghost in the Shell" and "Princess Mononoke". Mood lists which cinema is showing each and when.
Is there a Harry Potter marathon in LA cinemas this month?
Effectively, yes. Mood's September data shows all seven Harry Potter films running across LA revival houses at once, led by "Philosopher's Stone" with 83 showings across 28 cinemas, rather than a single official marathon event - it is spread across independent bookings at different theatres through the month.
How often is this guide updated?
This is a monthly guide - the LA cinema line-up changes with each new release slate, so it is refreshed at the start of every month with the current month's screenings. Mood tracks the calendar continuously, so the underlying listings stay current between updates.
Los Angeles gives you a new release and a classic on the same night, most nights. The full month - every cinema, every film - lives on Mood's Los Angeles cinema page.
