REBIRTH OF THE
CORONADO VILLAGE THEATER
By Joe Ditler
Like the cat with nine lives, the iconic Coronado Village Theater has again risen from the dead. The treasured little movie theater that sits on the main street of Coronado has been dark this past month, but is prepared to open July 1 with a fresh slate of movies, new management, and a highly trained and efficient staff.
I was honored to be invited down to the theater on Monday to meet their fearless leader, a petite young woman; a woman with movies in her DNA, who admits to having seen 57 newly released films thus far in 2026.
Julie Bravo is President and CEO of UltraStar Cinemas. She is also President and CMO of Evolved Multi-tainment Management, which operates and manages movie theaters. They manage and operate the UltraStar brand, and D’placed Cinemas, which has seven locations throughout California, and now will operate and manage the Village Theater.
She sat there, alone in the theater lobby, surrounded by boxes of inventory, pages of to-do items, and her laptop. Even as we did our interview, she flitted around like Tinker Bell, first here, then there, then running down the hall to grab an item, and even answering questions from people off the street who discovered an unintentional unlocked front door.
The Village Theater was built at the end of WWII
The Village Theater was built at the end of WWII. The builder had limited supplies, as the war effort had depleted just about everything he needed to build his theater. Still, he had an idea, a dream, and when the Village Theater opened March 18, 1947 to “Irish Eyes Are Smiling,” the people of Coronado were very, very happy.
Then, in 2000, the theater fell on hard times and the owners just closed the doors. They left the last movie shown displayed on the marque — “The Grinch,” starring Jim Carey. Sadly, the theater sat there, dark and abandoned, for 11 years.
In 2011, Lance Alspaugh, of Vintage Cinemas in Los Angeles, negotiated with the owners and the City of Coronado to take over the Village Theater.
He, and the best creative team money could buy, blessed Coronado with a complete inside remodel, adding two additional screening rooms, and the most elegant black light paintings along both walls of all three screening rooms. The artwork, illuminated by black lights, leapt from the walls – a real visual delight.
Now, in 2026, Lance Alspaugh has died. The theater’s ownership considered all options before placing UltraStar Cinemas at the head of this precious piece of Coronado history.
“The Village Theater is in an iconic location.
It’s olde school Hollywood and absolutely beautiful…”
“The Village Theater is in an iconic location,” said Julie Bravo. “It’s olde school Hollywood and absolutely beautiful. It is definitely something that should stay open. When we had the opportunity brought to us, we jumped at it. This theater is a real gem.”
Everyone has a favorite memory of their first movie, the first movie they took their children to, or their first date. It’s something that brings people together. It’s the ultimate communal experience.
“My father is the owner of UltraStar Cinemas”, said Bravo. “He’s been in the business for 50 years. I was two years old when he bought his first theater. I grew up in the movies, and I absolutely love it. I’m so fortunate that it’s in my blood.”
The sheer delight on the face of this woman, who has been saddled with getting the Village Theater back on line and successful, was something to behold. It’s what I call genuine glee, uncontainable enthusiasm.
“My first movie memory is watching ‘ET’ from the projection booth at a theater in Poway,” she said. “It’s forever ingrained in my mind. I have three children and they go to the movies with me constantly.
“I’ve seen 57 movies in the
movie theater in 2026 already …”
“I’ve seen 57 movies in the movie theater in 2026 already. I keep track of every movie I ever see, and I take my children whenever I can. In my business I can’t afford to turn my phone off. But, when I go to a movie, I turn my phone off,” she laughed.
Bravo explained how they have a film buyer they work with, and discuss with him every week what’s coming out. “We’re always looking ahead,” she said. “We know what’s coming out for the next four-eight weeks. We look at what’s coming up, and determine what will make the most sense for this location, whether it’s a children’s film, a foreign film, or the newest Marvel movie.
“It’s going to be a puzzle to work with here in Coronado. We have only three screens, and realize that there are more than three movies coming out every week. We know we can’t play everything.”
Bravo said she relishes input from the community as to what type of movies they want to see. “We do have relationships with all the major Hollywood studios. As part of that, there is an expectation that all the blockbuster movies will be shown on our screens. So, we do anticipate playing things like ‘Spiderman,’ the big Marvel movies, etc. We’ll fit in the smaller movies when we can.”
Generally, movies need to play for a minimum of two weeks. That’s part of UltraStar’s contract with the studios. They won’t have new movies every Friday. Some movies will carry over. Once a movie runs its course, a new movie will come in. And that will continue. If a movie is under performing, they have the luxury of moving it to the smaller screening room. Likewise, if a movie is over performing it will move to the larger screening room.
Multi-use of the screening rooms is something being looked at by new management. Contrary to popular belief, they do not have a beer and wine license, but are looking into that. “The bottom line is to fill seats as best as possible without sacrificing the movie-going experience,” she said.
“Nachos are definitely coming to the Village Theater …”
“We are expanding the concession offerings. For example, the previous management company didn’t offer nachos. Nachos are definitely coming to the Village Theater, as are snack tray combos – where we can fill a tray with popcorn, a drink and a snack. We have a good idea of what our moviegoers like and don’t like. We’re constantly learning and growing the movie experience, and we’re going to start with adding nachos to the menu,” she said with a victorious smile.
“I live in San Diego. Our corporate office is in San Diego. UltraStar has been part of San Diego for more than 25 years. I encourage people to reach out to us with what they want. We want to bring in things the community would like.”
One of the most difficult things is to try and get work done inside the theater and still handle all the questions from people walking by. Julie has the patience of Job and is possibly the finest manager we could have hoped for. It’s literally in her DNA, and the joy on her face when talking about the movies is in itself worth the price of admission.
“Coming to a movie theater
is a way to totally escape
for two hours.”
“I get it that people in today’s world can sit at home, in their comfy chair, and access hundreds of movies and documentaries with their remote-control box. But, there is nothing like the magic of going into a theater and being surrounded by other people. Audiences laugh together, they cry together. Coming to a movie theater is a way to totally escape for two hours. There is nothing like it,” she said.
Julie and her family also operate the seven-plex Hazard Center and Mission Valley Cinemas, which are modern facilities across the bridge in San Diego. “But here, at the Village theater,” she quickly added, “we get to enjoy the enormous curtains that come down, the fabric seats, I mean, this is olde school Hollywood. When you walk into this lobby, even the concession stand is olde school Hollywood.”
Bravo expressed sadness that the Village Theater had to go dark this past month during the transition of management, but repeated again, and again how she and her family are absolutely thrilled to meet the community of Coronado and welcome them back to the Village Theater.
The Village Theater will be called the UltraStar Village Theater. But locals will always know it as the Village Theater. The parent company, the organization that threw a life ring to the drowning Village Theater, is UltraStar Cinemas. The mother ship, if you will.
“Each man’s life touches so many other lives.
And when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole,
doesn’t he?” — Clarence the Angel
As for Julie Bravo, her favorite movie of all time is “Splendor in the Grass,” with Warren Beatty and Natalie Wood. “It’s a Wonderful Life” is her next favorite movie — the black and white version. The closing quote by Clarence the Angel in “It’s A Wonderful Life” has become her life slogan. It’s even at the bottom of her emails: “Each man’s life touches so many other lives. And when he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?”
One of the things Julie wants to do is to utilize the numerous glass presentation cases on either side of the hallway leading to the screening rooms. She is considering using old archive images from the Village Theater’s early years, perhaps enlarged quotes from early moviegoers describing their experience, or favorite movie memory.
Likewise, she is looking into restoring the innovative black lights that were intended to illuminate the large mural walls in each screening room (two in each room), so that guests will get the full Village Theater experience.
The official soft opening of the new UltraStar Village Theater takes place July 1, 2026. The opening films will be “Minions & Monsters,” “Toy Story 5,” and Spielberg’s “Disclosure Day.”
Visit www.coronadotheater.com for showtimes. You can join their mailing list for future movie notices and special events.
Coronado is very fortunate to have Julie Bravo and her family at the helm. Long live the UltraStar Village Theater, and … “pass the nachos, please?”
The irony of the Postscript below is evident.
