After shuttering in 2024, the Westwood Village Theater – now rebranded as the Directors Village – brought hundreds of people to Westwood to see “The Odyssey.”

The theater was purchased in February 2024 by a collective of filmmakers including Christopher Nolan, director of “The Odyssey,” an adaptation of the epic poem written by ancient Greek poet Homer.

The Village Theater closed after the operator’s lease expired in July 2024 and remained closed for nearly two years until the film’s screenings began July 16. “The Odyssey” was screened at the Directors Village until Aug. 6 three times a day – 10 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

[Related: UCLA students react to Westwood Village Theater reopening in 2027]

“It was beautiful,” said Summer Hull, who lives near Westwood. “As soon as I walked into the theater, I was like, ‘It’s so beautiful because there’s so much detail in it.’”

The single-screen theater seats 1,341 people per viewing, said Joaquin Dominguez, the assistant general manager of operations for nonprofit organization the American Cinematheque, which partnered with the Village Directors Circle to operate the theater.

Tickets for the evening showing of “The Odyssey” were sold out from July 16-19, he said. The first two screenings typically attracted between 600 and 900 viewers daily, he added.

Because Nolan shot the entirety of “The Odyssey” on 70mm IMAX cameras, watching it at the Directors Village – where it is projected on film – gives people the proper viewing experience, Dominguez said. There are only eight theaters in California that can show film in specifically IMAX 70mm, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The revitalization of the historic theater has led to a renewed interest in Westwood, said Michael Russell, the executive director of the Westwood Village Improvement Association.

By the time the doors opened for the evening showing on July 21, the general admission line extended about 100 feet, past Falafel Inc. People began waiting for the 7:30 p.m. screening around 5:40 p.m.

Adjacent businesses – including Diddy Riese and Starbucks – have seen increased foot traffic around the three showtimes, Russell added.

Scott Hyde, the first person in the general line, said it was his first time at the Directors Village theater since its reopening. He came because the theater was one of few in the area with a 70 mm projection that still had tickets available.

Gina Decas, a rising fourth-year business economics student who got in line around 6:30 p.m., said she came to the Directors Village because of its proximity to campus and lower ticket prices compared with other theaters in the area.

General admission tickets to “The Odyssey” are $23 through American Cinematheque, while tickets for AMC Century City 15 – one of the next closest theaters to campus – cost up to $30, depending on the format.

“There’s not much to do around Westwood,” Decas said. “It would be nice to have another activity to do down here.”

James Hull, who lined up with Summer Hull around 1:30 p.m., said he believes the theater’s reopening will cultivate community in Westwood. Viewers can see a movie and walk to a nearby restaurant or visit another local business afterward, he added.

“It would be awesome if this came back to life the way that it was in the mid-’90s,” James Hull said. “It used to be a really great place.”