Grassroots Campaign to Reopen LA's Cinerama Dome Paused After Incident

A five-year effort to revive the historic theater has hit a roadblock after a confrontation with police.

Apr. 6, 2026 at 9:48pm

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An abstract, minimalist illustration featuring stark black silhouettes of the distinctive Cinerama Dome structure, conveying a sense of determination and community resolve in the face of corporate control over the historic theater.The grassroots campaign to revive the Cinerama Dome, a beloved Los Angeles movie theater, faces a new obstacle as the property owner pushes back against community efforts.Los Angeles Today

A grassroots campaign to reopen the iconic Cinerama Dome movie theater in Los Angeles has been put on pause following an incident on Friday night where the student organizer and his team projected images and slogans onto the theater's facade, prompting a police response and a warning from the property owner.

Why it matters

The Cinerama Dome has long been a beloved and culturally significant venue for moviegoers in Los Angeles, and its continued closure has sparked frustration among film fans who want to see the historic theater reopened. The standoff highlights the tensions between community efforts to revive local landmarks and the property owner's control over the site.

The details

On Friday night, 26-year-old film student Ben Steinberg, along with a projectionist and a private security guard, projected images of the Forman family, who own the Cinerama Dome's parent company Decurion, onto the theater's facade along with the slogan 'Mr. Forman REOPEN THE DOME!'. After about two-and-a-half hours, LAPD officers arrived in response to a call from the property owner, who considered the projection to be harassment. Steinberg said he immediately complied with the officers' request to shut down the projection.

  • On Friday night, April 4, 2026, the incident occurred at the Cinerama Dome.
  • Steinberg's grassroots campaign to reopen the Cinerama Dome began in April 2021.

The players

Ben Steinberg

A 26-year-old film student at Cal State Northridge who has been a vocal and active proponent of reopening the Cinerama Dome.

Decurion Corporation

The longtime owners of the Cinerama Dome property, who have kept the venue closed since the onset of the pandemic in March 2020.

Forman Family

The family that owns Decurion Corporation, the parent company of the Cinerama Dome.

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What they’re saying

“They came to us and they informed us that the property owner considers it harassment and that it's an escalation and that we have to shut down. So we just shut down immediately. We didn't contest anything.”

— Ben Steinberg, Grassroots Organizer

What’s next

Steinberg considers the Save the Cinerama Dome campaign paused for now, but hopes to resume it as soon as possible. He is waiting to see if Decurion will take any further action against the community efforts to reopen the historic theater.

The takeaway

The standoff over the Cinerama Dome highlights the tensions between grassroots efforts to preserve culturally significant local landmarks and the control that large corporations can exert over such properties, even when they remain shuttered and unused. The incident has galvanized film fans who see the Dome as a symbol of the community's right to shape the cultural landscape of Los Angeles.