Laemmle is Los Angeles's dedicated arthouse movie theater chain, a family-run operator that specializes in independent releases, foreign-language titles and documentaries, with occasional revival screenings mixed into the calendar. Most citywide guides to LA moviegoing treat it as a single line item next to the Nuart or the Frida. In Mood's data, the six Laemmle movie theaters listed on Mood carry 350 confirmed screenings between them looking out toward next summer, and the split between locations is uneven enough that treating Laemmle as one undifferentiated brand undersells what each individual room actually plays.
A Family-Run Chain Since 1938
Laemmle Theatres was founded in 1938 by Kurt and Max Laemmle, nephews of Carl Laemmle, the Universal Pictures founder, and the company has stayed in family hands ever since - it's currently run by Greg Laemmle. The chain now operates seven theaters across Los Angeles County; six of them carry upcoming screenings in Mood's Los Angeles listings, which is what this guide covers. That history matters for context: Laemmle isn't a recent arthouse startup chasing counter-programming trends, it's a nearly 90-year-old operation that predates almost every multiplex it now competes against.
Six Screens, One Chain, Different Personalities
The footprint runs from the San Fernando Valley to the Westside to the northern edge of the county: North Hollywood, Glendale, Santa Monica, Encino, West LA and Santa Clarita. Each location books its own slate rather than mirroring a shared chain-wide schedule, and the per-venue breakdown in Mood's data shows real differences in what each room actually programs, not just how many seats it has.
Laemmle NoHo 7 - North Hollywood's Full Calendar
At Laemmle NoHo 7 on Lankershim Boulevard, seven screens keep the chain's fullest calendar running. Drama and comedy dominate the genre count, with a smaller but consistent run of war and fantasy titles.
In Mood's data, NoHo 7 alone accounts for 98 of the chain's 350 screenings - well over a quarter of Laemmle's total volume, and 53% more than Glendale, the next-busiest location.
The drama If I Go Will They Miss Me is the room's most-booked new release, running 30 of NoHo 7's screenings on its own.
A repertory run of Pan's Labyrinth is the clearest revival booking anywhere in the chain right now, at 16 screenings. NoHo 7's breadth is also its trade-off: with seven screens to fill, its slate reads more like a general arthouse multiplex than a curated single-focus room.
Laemmle Glendale - The Documentary and Music Room
A few miles east, Laemmle Glendale on Maryland Avenue carries 64 screenings in Mood's listings, and its genre mix is the most distinct of the six.
Twenty-five of Glendale's screenings are tagged Documentary and nineteen Music, spread across titles like Carnival of the Animals rather than concentrated behind one breakout release.
The Marching Band follows the same pattern - another music-adjacent title with a handful of screenings rather than a runaway hit. It isn't a pure documentary house, though: thirteen Horror and thirteen Thriller screenings sit in the same calendar, so genre film still gets real room here.
Laemmle Monica Film Center - Santa Monica's Doc-and-Drama Split
On 2nd Street in Santa Monica, Laemmle Monica Film Center runs 62 screenings, splitting fairly evenly between drama, comedy and documentary.
The music-documentary Jack Johnson: SURFILMUSIC is the most-booked title here, one of several music-adjacent bookings that give the room a different flavor than the Valley locations.
The drama-comedy Sunny Dancer runs close behind it, and - together with an archival Queen concert film later in the calendar - keeps the music thread going. Straight drama and comedy still make up most of the schedule, though; Monica Film Center isn't a specialty music-doc house any more than Glendale is a pure documentary one.
Laemmle Town Center 5 - Encino's Nonfiction Lean
In Encino, Laemmle Town Center 5 carries 54 screenings, and documentary is the room's largest genre tag at 25 of them.
One title does more of the work here than anywhere else in the chain: the documentary The Hollywood Rabbi accounts for 21 of Town Center 5's 54 screenings on its own, nearly 40% of the room's calendar.
That doesn't make it a single-genre venue - nine Action and nine Thriller screenings keep a mainstream counterweight on the calendar, so a documentary crowd and a genre-film crowd are effectively sharing the same five screens.
Laemmle Royal - West LA's Drama-and-Western Mix
On Santa Monica Boulevard near Westwood, Laemmle Royal runs 51 screenings, led by drama at thirty of them.
The most unusual thing about Royal's slate is genre depth rather than volume: eight Western-tagged screenings sit alongside the drama First Timers, the room's most-booked single title. It's still primarily a drama room rather than a genre specialist, but the Western count is an odd fit for a chain built around new independent releases.
Laemmle Newhall - The Chain's Mainstream Outlier
At the northern edge of the footprint in Santa Clarita, Laemmle Newhall is the smallest location in Mood's data at 21 screenings, and also the chain's clearest break from an arthouse identity.
Newhall is the only Laemmle location in Mood's listings carrying current studio tentpoles: Spider-Man: Brand New Day screens there alongside the drama and documentary titles that anchor the rest of the chain.
Coyote vs. Acme runs alongside it. One honest caveat on the count: at the time of this pull, Newhall's published calendar only extended two days out, versus months out for the other five rooms - a publishing-lag pattern common to smaller locations rather than evidence the room is actually thinner. The real gap between Newhall's 21 screenings and NoHo 7's 98 is probably narrower than it looks once more showtimes go live.
Where Laemmle Fits Into LA's Wider Movie Theater Scene
Laemmle isn't the only arthouse operator in Los Angeles, and it isn't trying to be. Single-screen houses like the Vista in Los Feliz and revival spaces like Vidiots sit alongside it in the city's independent scene, each with its own identity rather than a shared chain-wide program. Mood's guide to independent and historic movie theaters in Los Angeles covers that fuller citywide list; this guide exists because Laemmle's six-location footprint is large enough, and different enough room to room, to warrant its own breakdown rather than a single entry in a broader roundup.
Find Laemmle Screenings on Mood
Every screening referenced here is pulled from live listings rather than a fixed monthly schedule, so the exact lineup shifts as theaters publish new dates. The full, current slate across all six Laemmle locations - along with the rest of the city's screens - is browsable on Mood's list of Los Angeles movie theaters.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many Laemmle movie theaters are there in Los Angeles?
Laemmle Theatres operates seven locations across Los Angeles County. Six of them - NoHo 7, Glendale, Monica Film Center, Town Center 5, Royal and Newhall - carry upcoming screenings in Mood's Los Angeles data, together totaling 350 confirmed screenings.
What kind of movies does Laemmle play?
Mostly independent releases, foreign-language titles and documentaries, with occasional revival bookings like the current Pan's Labyrinth run at NoHo 7. Newhall is the exception: it's the only Laemmle location currently screening mainstream studio titles alongside its arthouse slate.
Which Laemmle location has the most screenings?
NoHo 7 in North Hollywood, with 98 screenings in Mood's data - more than any other Laemmle location, and well ahead of Glendale's 64.
Is Laemmle the same company as the Nuart or the Frida Cinema?
No. Laemmle Theatres is a separate, family-run chain dating to 1938, distinct from single-screen operators like the Frida Cinema. For the fuller list of Los Angeles's independent movie theaters, including how Laemmle compares to the rest of the scene, see Mood's guide to independent and historic movie theaters in Los Angeles.
Every Laemmle screening in Los Angeles, across all six rooms, is listed on Mood's Los Angeles movie theater page.
