Fox Ventura Theatre

390 S. Mills Road,
Ventura, CA 93003

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Additional Info

Previously operated by: Mann Theatres, National General Theatres

Architects: L. Perry Pearson, Paul Wuesthoff

Firms: Pearson & Wuesthoff

Functions: Retail

Nearby Theaters

Ventura Fox opening

Opened as a 918-seat single screen theatre October 2, 1968 by National General Theatres. The opening movie was Dustin Hoffman in “The Graduate”. It was twinned December 10, 1982. The Fox Ventura Theatre operated until under the occasional Mann banner, showing films across the street from the city’s biggest shopping mall until 1987 or slightly after that (I saw “Spaceballs” there). It’s now a Good Guys store.

Contributed by MagicLantern

Recent comments (view all 8 comments)

lastan67
lastan67 on June 23, 2005 at 10:05 pm

The old Mann Theatre was called the “FOX”. I know I worked there in 1984-1985. In December of 1982 the movie theatre became a “Twin Theatre” and renamed the Mann Ventura Twin . Its opening movies (when it reopened) were Screen #1 “THE TOY” and Screen #2 was “Airplane II”. The last movie it played as a single screen was “An Officer and a Gentelmen”. This closed in the spring of 1998.
Since I worked there I also know the church next door were not nice neighbors. The “YOUTH GROUP KIDS” of that church use to make mess in the churches parking lot but they would blame our customers! So they always got a free “clean up on us”

MagicLantern
MagicLantern on November 2, 2005 at 6:11 pm

Now that CompUSA is closing all GoodGuys stores in California, this building is soon to be vacant.

tresmichele
tresmichele on April 21, 2006 at 7:10 am

Thanks for the posts, Stan & MagicLantern! I went to this theater a lot when I was a child and this brought back fond memories. My fondest movie memory there was watching “One Crazy Summer” with John Cusack, Demi Moore, and Bobcat Goldthwait (go figure!). As for the church behind it, I attend that church and I’m sorry to hear about your experiences with the kids there. Our members are actually quite friendly, caring, and considerate so I’m going to use your comments as a lesson to the current youth group that their actions now can have long lasting effects.

Clarkus
Clarkus on April 23, 2008 at 12:20 am

Still vacant with a for lease sign in the window.

kvnsct69
kvnsct69 on July 11, 2008 at 5:29 pm

I saw the Chris Reeve ‘Superman’ there when it was still a single screen. It was huge! It seemed that when the curtain opened it just kept going and going and going… It was thrilling. Except for the Cinerama Dome, there just aren’t really huge screens like that anymore. I was quite bereft when they split the Fox into 2 screens. It just wasn’t the same.

rivest266
rivest266 on November 26, 2010 at 3:52 pm

This opened on October 2nd, 1968
ad is at
View link

rivest266
rivest266 on November 26, 2010 at 5:30 pm

and the grand opening ad for the Ventura Twin on December 10th, 1982 is at
View link

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