The Academy Museum Has an Opening Date

Much excited ado is made, each and every year, about the splashy blockbusters and starry and serious cinematic treats that shimmer onto our screens as the yuletide grows near.

But for film fans in Los Angeles, and around the world, too, the most major movie event of the 2020 Christmas season won't be on the silver screen but rather at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue.

For the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open on Dec. 14, 2020, giving those who love cinematic stories the chance to delve deeper into exhibits, history, talks, and screenings.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences is behind the multi-year, multi-million dollar project. Actor Tom Hanks revealed the opening date during the 92nd Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, Feb. 9.

"The world's premier institution dedicated to the art and sciences of movies" is located in the Saban Building, the former May Co. location, and it includes two theaters, six floors dedicated to exhibit spaces, a restaurant, a gift shop, event rooms, and more.

The giant, from-the-future orb rising on the north side of the building? That houses the 1,000-seat David Geffen Theater as well as the Dolby Family Terrace, the rooftop, open-air terrace atop the theater.

It's a terrace that includes views of, you bet, the Hollywood Sign as well as several other landmarks.

And upon its Dec. 14 opening? Visitors may spy Christmas lights bedecking the Fairfax, West Hollywood, and Hollywood neighborhoods it overlooks.

Will this be your biggest Christmas gift, film fans? Stay tuned for more information about the opening Hayao Miyazaki retrospective, as well as the free admission offer for guests ages 17 and younger.

That's not just an opening-day perk, but a permanent feature of the Academy Museum, thanks to a donation from the George Lucas Family Foundation.