The 27th Newport Beach Film Festival runs October 15 through 22, and Regal Edwards Big Newport hosts both its first and last nights. The Planning Commission and City Council have approved two condo towers for the theater's site. The family that owns the land has set June 2027 as the latest date Regal can stay. The Daily Pilot described this year's festival as "likely a farewell" to Big Newport as a key venue. Look at the week as a whole, though, and most of it already happens away from Big Newport. The theater is the festival's ceremonial home. The rest of the festival is spread across nine other venues, which gives a rough idea of how it might run once the big screen is gone.
Two nights still belong to the big screen
Opening night is the documentary Frampton. It screens Thursday, October 15, at 7 p.m. on Big Newport's Screen 1, followed by a Q&A with director Rob Arthur and Peter Frampton. Closing night is Behemoth! on Thursday, October 22, also on Screen 1. The official schedule adds a Los Angeles Times "In Conversation" podcast taping before that premiere.
The festival still uses Screen 1 for its biggest nights because of what that room was built for. Big Newport opened in February 1969 with one auditorium of 1,249 seats and a screen nearly 75 feet wide. Newport Beach Magazine reported in 2014 that the building had grown to six screens by then, and the main auditorium still held 1,071 seats. The festival has used it as its opening-night venue for years and runs other screenings there during the week too.
As of today, October 12, Regal's own theater page still lists Big Newport with same-day showtimes. The theater is still open, and both bookend nights are on its calendar.
The middle of the week already lives elsewhere
Culture OC's October 7 guide shows how far the festival reaches beyond Newport Center.
| Venue | Role during festival week |
|---|---|
| Regal Edwards Big Newport | Opening and closing night films, plus screenings |
| The Lido Theater | Screenings |
| The Lot, Newport Beach | Screenings |
| Triangle Square Cinemas, Costa Mesa | Screenings |
| Fashion Island | Opening night party and Main Stage events |
| Vea Newport Beach, Pendry Newport Beach, Lido Marina Village | Sunset Series receptions |
| Balboa Bay Resort | The Honors event |
| Time Nightclub, Costa Mesa | International spotlight parties |
That's four screening venues, one of them in Costa Mesa, and six more places hosting parties and receptions. The program lists more than 100 features and 250 shorts from 21 countries, so the film you pick could easily play at the Lido, The Lot or Triangle Square, even this year. Check the venue on each ticket in the digital program.
Festival leaders haven't said where things would move if Big Newport closes. When the condo appeal was decided in the spring, the Daily Pilot reported that a councilmember said losing the theater would not mean the end of the festival, but no replacement venue was named. For now, the table above is the best evidence of how the festival works without its main screen.
Fashion Island carries the weekend
If Big Newport holds the two ends of the week, Fashion Island holds the middle. Orange Coast reports that the opening-night galas will be split between Big Newport and Fashion Island, with Main Stage events at Fashion Island October 16 through 18. StyleWeekOC runs at the center October 14 through 18. The Irvine Company says this is the third year StyleWeekOC has partnered with the festival.
Several store events land in the same window, so it's easy to make an afternoon of it between screenings:
- Levain Bakery opened its first Orange County café at Fashion Island this summer. It's near Macy's and Sushi Roku, and the center's directory lists it as now open in Suite 315.
- Jones Road Beauty has a grand-opening event October 16 through 18 at Suite 1089, the same days as the Main Stage events.
- Farm Rio celebrates its grand opening Saturday, October 17, from 2 to 5 p.m. at Suite 1057.
Fashion Island's address is 401 Newport Center Drive. Big Newport sits in the same Newport Center district, which Fashion Island anchors, so the two opening-night locations are close to each other.
What it costs to get in
Here's the price list from Culture OC. It shows how much the cost changes depending on whether you come for one film or the whole week.
- Feature films and shorts showcases from $20
- Centerpiece features $30
- International spotlight films from $30, or $60 with the after-party
- Sunset Series receptions $70 each
- Opening night party only $200; opening night film and party $250
- Party Pass $300, covering the opening night gala and three international spotlight after-parties
- Premier Insider pass $950, covering the opening night screening and gala, reservations for up to four films a day, after-parties, Sunset Series receptions and the Fashion Island Main Stage events, except sold-out events
The $250 opening-night ticket buys one film in Big Newport's largest room plus the party. A single regular screening at the Lido or The Lot starts at $20. If you want to sit in Screen 1 one more time without paying for a pass, opening or closing night is the way to do it. Tickets and the digital program are on the festival's site.
The films and names drawing the crowds
The Daily Pilot's lineup report singled out several centerpiece titles. Ink is Danny Boyle's film about the early days of The Sun, starring Jack O'Connell as Larry Lamb and Guy Pearce as Rupert Murdoch. Paper Tiger is a James Gray crime drama with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. Jimmy is having its West Coast premiere, with KJ Apa playing Jimmy Stewart. The international and documentary picks include Ali Asgari's A Bit of Light, the Philippine historical thriller Sisa, Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff, and Smooth World, a documentary about smooth jazz.
The honorees appear over several days. Screen Daily reported Taraji P. Henson, Jack O'Connell, Mckenna Grace, Sosie Bacon and casting director Sarah Finn among the October 18 honorees. Gemma Chan, Justin Hartley, KJ Apa and Jonás Cuarón are also being honored between October 17 and 20. Culture OC lists Balboa Bay Resort as the location for the Honors event. Executive director Gregg Schwenk told Culture OC that Newport Beach is now home to one of the largest concentrations of Guild and Academy voters outside Los Angeles and New York. That helps explain why so many awards-season titles stop here.
What's actually settled about the theater
Here's what's decided. The Daily Pilot reported that Related California plans two nearly identical 22-story towers, each about 270 feet tall, with 150 condos on the roughly four-acre site. The plans also include home offices for residents to buy, retail space and a café. The Planning Commission approved the project on March 5. On April 28 the City Council voted 7–0 to uphold that approval, according to Stu News Newport.
The closing date is less certain. The Edwards family, who own the property, decided not to extend Regal's operating agreement past June 2027. The family also said Regal told them it wanted to leave sooner, before the end of 2026. That earlier exit comes from the family's account, and Regal hasn't announced a firm date. So "farewell" is the likely outcome for this year's festival, not a confirmed one.
When the plan went before the Planning Commission, Schwenk told commissioners that festival organizers and volunteers were "a little alarmed and concerned." He said he hoped the developer would reach out "and figure out how we can work together to find a possible solution to the loss of our home," according to the Daily Pilot. No such solution has been announced. The 2026 schedule is the latest look at how the festival is set up, and it opens and closes on Screen 1 on October 15 and October 22.
Newport Center will look different in a few years, and festival week is a good time to see how the area works today. If you'd like to talk about how changes like the Big Newport site might shape the neighborhood around it, Alondra Guevara is always glad to listen and share what she's watching locally. Let's Connect.
