L.A.’s historic Bruin Theatre met itsambitious fall reopening target on Friday, October 23, but its return is already facing a challenge from the companies behind its first attraction. LAIKA and Fathom Entertainment say they have taken legal action to stop the Bruin from showing “Wildwood.”
The film was previously advertised as a week-long run at the newly reopened Westwood venue. But in a joint statement provided exclusively to IndieWire, the animation studio and its theatrical distribution partner said concerns about operator Rui Pereira‘s history of controversial comments and behavior prompted them to seek an end to screenings.
“When LAIKA became aware of the Bruin engagement, we immediately raised concerns with Fathom Entertainment, our theatrical distribution partner. LAIKA and Fathom commenced legal action to end the film’s screenings at the theatre,” the companies said in an email.
We have not yet received confirmation
“We have not yet received confirmation that the screenings have stopped. We are continuing to explore our options, as the concerns regarding the theatre operator are incompatible with the values of our two companies.” IndieWire independently confirmed that “Wildwood” screenings had continued at the Bruin through at least Sunday afternoon, October 25, and as of publication,the theater’s website still advertised daily screenings at 1:30 p.m., 4 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9:30 p.m.
LAIKA and Fathom Entertainment did not specify what kind of legal action they had taken to stop showings of their film. On a phone call with IndieWire, Pereira asked how we had obtained a cease-and-desist letter. IndieWire had neither received nor reviewed such a letter and told Pereira we had communicated directly with the companies. He continued, “You guys are assholes. Everything you have written is false.”
The dispute introduces an immediate programming problem for Pereira’s revived movie palace, which reopened with “Wildwood” after sitting dark sinceRegency Theatres departed the space in July 2024. It also follows months of scrutiny involving Pereira, whose rocky history operating Toronto’s Kingsway Theatre became the subject of an IndieWire investigation on September 3.
IndieWire’s earlier reporting examinedallegations of assault, nonpayment, racial
IndieWire’s earlier reporting examinedallegations of assault, nonpayment, racial discrimination, online harassment, and unauthorized film exhibition. The reporting drew on interviews with more than 25 sources in the U.S. and Canada, as well as court records, digital correspondence, social media posts, and years of advertised Kingsway screenings some rights holders say they did not authorize. Pereira has broadly disputed those allegations and characterized the ongoing scrutiny of his businesses as an effort to undermine his work as an exhibitor.
“There are no controversies and any attempt to generate them is dishonest and disingenuous,” Pereira said then. “The Bruin Theater is a gift, not only to Los Angeles, but the world — a cultural heritage site that unites generations of movie goers in the experience of cinema.”
Several journalists have described being targeted by Pereira after publishing critical coverage or omitting the Kingsway from their reporting. Speaking with IndieWire on the phone and in a subsequent email on October 26, Pereira referred to IndieWire staff as “presstitutes” and accused the publication of getting paid to write about him negatively.
Two volunteersleft the Bruin restoration project in August
Two volunteersleft the Bruin restoration project in August after posts attributed to the Kingsway account circulated among Los Angeles moviegoers. Screenshots reviewed by IndieWire included racist and antisemitic remarks, as well as exchanges targeting individual patrons.ion, alleging that Pereira continued targeting some critics online for months or years after their initial disputes
When asked byThe Hollywood Reporter in an August 23 report about some specific Kingsway posts — including one telling a target to “Go back to Poland” and another describing a swastika painted on a Jewish family’s home as “the proper symbol for zionazis” — Pereira acknowledged that the comments were “offensive” and said he “must take responsibility.”
The current dispute over “Wildwood” also follows separate questions about the Kingsway’s programming. IndieWire previously identified55 advertised screenings of 17 films that three rights holders said they had not authorized at Pereira’s Toronto theater. Those findings came from a limited sample and did not establish that all or even most Kingsway screenings were unlicensed. “There are no issues with film licensing or any disputes,” Pereira said previously.
Notably, LAIKA and Fathom’s statement does not suggest
Notably, LAIKA and Fathom’s statement does not suggest that the Bruin’s “Wildwood” booking was unauthorized from the outset. Rather, the companies say they sought to end the Bruin screenings over specific concerns about Pereira as operator. “Wildwood” opened in nearly 3,000 theaters nationwide, and a booking on that scale is hardly an endorsement of every exhibitor.
Still, independent theaters often build their identities around the taste and reputations of the people running them. At a beloved landmark like the Bruin, affection for an old movie palace can translate into intense trust in whoever promises to save it. For now, the location has achieved the reopening its new operator promised. Whether it can continue showing the film that brought audiences back is in dispute.
