December 21st, 2025 by thehollywoodhome
This holiday season, Los Angeles’ cinephile landscape glimmers with tradition, spectacle, and intimate charm, offering something for every kind of moviegoer. From the Academy Museum’s dazzling 3D-CEMBER! presentations and the American Cinematheque’s repertory-rich screenings, to the historic glamour of the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Cinegrill and Quentin Tarantino’s meticulously programmed New Beverly Cinema, the city’s theaters invite audiences to gather, celebrate, and lose themselves in the magic of the season. Heritage Square Museum’s Yuletide Cinemaland brings classic favorites to twinkling Victorian streets, while Laemmle Theatres’ annual Fiddler on the Roof Sing-Along transforms Christmas Eve into a joyous, participatory tradition. Across these venues, Los Angeles’ film community fuses history, spectacle, and holiday cheer, ensuring that December moviegoing feels both festive and unforgettable. Read on for all of December’s remaining special events, holiday film screenings, and seasonal cinematic celebrations across Los Angeles.
The Academy Museum
As December winds toward year’s end, the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Wilshire Boulevard keeps the cinematic momentum rolling with its annual 3D-CEMBER! series: on Friday, Dec. 26, family and genre fans can catch The Amazing Spider-Man in 3D at 2:30 p.m., followed by Jaws 3-D at 7:30 p.m. in the museum’s Ted Mann Theater; Saturday, Dec. 27 brings Ready Player One in 3D at 3:00 p.m. and The Martian in 3D at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday, Dec. 28 features Coraline in 3D at 2:30 p.m., with Final Destination 5 in 3D later that evening; Monday, Dec. 29 offers Gog in 3D at 2:30 p.m., followed by Long Day’s Journey into Night in 3D at 7:30 p.m.; and closing out the year on Wednesday, Dec. 31, audiences can ring in 2025 with The Incredibles 2 in 3D at 2:30 p.m., a vivid, immersive finale that underscores the museum’s commitment to presenting both contemporary favorites and cult curiosities in striking three dimensions.
American Cinematheque
From Sunday, Dec. 21 through New Year’s Eve, the American Cinematheque fills its landmark theaters with a characteristically eclectic mix of holiday favorites, repertory staples, and cult touchstones: Sunday, Dec. 21 opens at 1:00 p.m. with The Great Rupert at Los Feliz 3, followed by Metropolitan at 2:00 p.m. with a Q&A at the Aero Theatre and a 3:00 p.m. screening of It’s a Wonderful Life at the Egyptian; the afternoon continues with Three Wishes for Cinderella at 4:00 p.m., while evening brings Batman Returns at 7:00 p.m. (Egyptian), The Family Stone at 7:30 p.m. (Aero), and a late-night dose of cheerfully abrasive comedy with Bad Santa at 10:15 p.m.; on Monday, Dec. 22, the Aero hosts White Christmas at 7:30 p.m., while Los Feliz 3 screens Tangerine at 10:00 p.m.; Friday, Dec. 26 features Monty Python’s Life of Brian at 7:30 p.m. at the Aero; Tuesday, Dec. 30 brings The Apartment at 7:00 p.m. at Los Feliz 3; and on Wednesday, Dec. 31, the year closes with daytime and evening screenings of The Apartment at Los Feliz 3, a 6:30 p.m. Aero presentation of Strange Days, and a 7:00 p.m. New Year’s Eve screening of the silent classic The Phantom Carriage with a live score by Cliff Retallick, underscoring the Cinematheque’s enduring commitment to cinema as communal ritual.
Rooftop Cinema Club offers a premier outdoor movie experience at LEVEL in Downtown LA. Cozy up with a personal heater this holiday season and enjoy Fireside Films under the stars, including:
- Home Alone (Dec. 15, 22)
- Elf (Dec. 15, 17, 19, 21)
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Dec. 16, 20)
- Edward Scissorhands (Dec. 17)
- Love Actually (Dec. 18, 22)
- Home Alone 2 (Dec. 18)
- The Holiday (Dec. 19, 23)
- Carol (Dec. 20)
- Die Hard (Dec. 20)
- The Grinch (Dec. 21)
- The Night Before (Dec. 23)
- It’s A Wonderful Life (Dec. 24)
- The Notebook (Dec. 26)
- Twilight (Dec. 26)
- Casablanca (Dec. 27)
- When Harry Met Sally (Dec. 27)
- La La Land (Dec. 27)
- The Apartment (Dec. 28)
- The Dark Knight (Dec. 28)
- Scarface (Dec. 29)
- Love Jones (Dec. 30)
- The Great Gatsby (Dec. 30)
- When Harry Met Sally (Dec. 31)
Presented by Street Food Cinema and TIL Events in collaboration with Heritage Square Museum, Yuletide Cinemaland transforms the city’s oldest Victorian neighborhood into a glowing, open-air holiday village, pairing classic seasonal films with immersive festivities across multiple December dates: Nov. 29 and Dec. 22 bring Home Alone and Home Alone 2; Dec. 6 features Elf alongside A Christmas Story; Dec. 13 delivers a double dose of gothic cheer with The Nightmare Before Christmas and How the Grinch Stole Christmas; Dec. 20 screens The Santa Clause and Santa Clause 2; Dec. 21 offers Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer with The Muppet Christmas Carol; and Dec. 23 closes out the run with Elf and Home Alone, all set among lantern-lit paths and historic homes. Each evening unfolds with doors opening at 5:30 p.m., early screenings at 6:30 p.m. and late screenings at 8:15 p.m., while guided Victorian holiday home tours run from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m., complemented by a twinkling light tunnel, Tinsel Tavern, live piano sing-alongs, a Yuletide market, food trucks, classic concessions, and a Letters to Santa station; complimentary seating is provided across two screening areas, outside food is welcome, outside alcohol is not, and leashed dogs are invited to enjoy the outdoor festivities.
Originally opened in 1936, the storied Cinegrill Theater was once a glittering refuge for Golden Age Hollywood, a place where movie stars dined, drank, and disappeared into the glamour of the night. Resurrected in September 2022 by the Hollywood Roosevelt, the Cinegrill now shimmers with old-world allure, hidden behind a discreet bookcase in the hotel’s lower lobby and revealed as an intimate jewel box lined with velvet lounge sofas, a gilded stage, and sweeping red curtains trimmed in gold. On Christmas Eve, Wednesday, December 24, the theater’s Classic Cinema Night series, hosted by film critic and winemaker José Ignacio Cuenca, presents the enduring holiday touchstone It’s a Wonderful Life—Frank Capra’s 1946 fable of grace and second chances, initially met with modest acclaim but now woven into the fabric of American tradition, with George Bailey standing as one of Jimmy Stewart’s most indelible and beloved screen incarnations.
Quentin Tarantino’s repertory jewel box, the New Beverly Cinema, leans fully into the season with a smartly curated slate of holiday fare that spans cozy matinees, cult provocations, and 35mm showpieces. December highlights include a family-friendly Holiday Edition of the Cartoon Club on Dec. 13, along with crowd-pleasers Elf (Dec. 13–14) and The Muppet Christmas Carol (Dec. 20–21), while darker seasonal impulses surface in double features pairing Black Christmas with Silent Night, Deadly Night (Dec. 15–16) and Gremlins with Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Dec. 17–18). Christmas Day brings a classic comedy matinee of Monkey Business and Hit the Ice, followed later in the week by standalone 35mm presentations of Black Christmas (Dec. 20) and Die Hard (Dec. 23–24). The month culminates on Christmas night with a special roadshow engagement of The Hateful Eight, projected from a pristine 35mm print drawn from Tarantino’s personal archive, underscoring the New Beverly’s ongoing commitment to filmgoing as both ritual and revelation.
Laemmle Theaters
For Angelenos seeking an alternative to tinsel-and-eggnog Christmas Eve traditions, Laemmle Theatres’ long-running Sing-Along Fiddler on the Roof has become a beloved annual ritual, returning on December 24 for what the exhibitor proudly bills as its umpteenth year. Equal parts catharsis and communal celebration, the event invites audiences to sing, shout, and sway along to enduring standards like “Tradition,” “If I Were a Rich Man,” “To Life,” “Sunrise, Sunset,” “Do You Love Me?” and “Anatevka,” with costumes enthusiastically encouraged and participation not merely tolerated but expected. Norman Jewison’s 1971 adaptation of the Broadway landmark, drawn from Sholem Aleichem’s stories and anchored by Topol’s iconic Tevye, remains a sweeping portrait of faith, family, and change, its themes resonating as powerfully now as ever. Open to children (the film is rated G, though its ideas are weighty), tickets begin at $16 for general admission and $13 for Premiere Card holders—and true to tradition, the evening often sells out, making early planning all but mandatory.
Happy Holidays! ☃︎
Jacqueline Tager | DRE# 1476997
jacqueline.tager@sothebyshomes.com | (323) 697-3040
Sotheby’s International Realty – Los Feliz Brokerage
1801 N Hillhurst Avenue Los Angeles, CA 90027
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