Billie Eilish and James Cameron will premiere their co-directed 3D concert film at one of Los Angeles’ most storied movie houses — giving the historic Westwood Village Theatre one of its final major events before a year-long renovation shuts it down.
Paramount Pictures confirmed that Billie Eilish – Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) will screen at the Village Theatre on May 6, two days before its wide theatrical release on May 8. Dolby refurbished the theater’s projection booth specifically for the premiere to guarantee the one-night event is presented “at the highest technical standard, including immersive 3D,” according to Paramount.
The film documents Eilish’s sold-out Hit Me Hard and Soft world tour, captured during her Manchester residency in July 2025 — where she announced mid-concert that the shows were being filmed for a secret 3D project with Cameron as her collaborator.
Cameron revealed the partnership grew out of a personal connection: he is a close friend of Eilish’s mother, Maggie Baird, through their shared interests in veganism and sustainability. The film marks Cameron’s first co-directing credit since Aliens of the Deep in 2005, and Eilish’s second concert film after the 2021 Apple TV+ documentary Happier Than Ever: A Love Letter to Los Angeles.
The choice of venue carries weight beyond logistics. Built in 1930, the Village Theatre has hosted hundreds of premieres across its 90-plus-year run. Its future had been uncertain until filmmaker Jason Reitman led a coalition of more than 30 directors — including Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and Damien Chazelle — to purchase the 1,000-seat Spanish mission-style landmark in early 2024.
The group, known as the Village Directors Circle, subsequently partnered with the American Cinematheque to operate and program the theater, with plans to pour $25 million into its renovation ahead of a target 2027 reopening. The Eilish premiere is part of a limited slate of events this summer before construction begins in the fall.
Cameron framed the occasion as both personal and pointed. “It is moving, to me, to know that Billie and I are premiering our new film, in 2026, at a theater that has so much meaning to L.A.’s cinematic history,” he said. “It’s also uplifting that friends of the Village Theatre have banded together to protect and preserve it, in an age when our dream of cinema itself is at risk.”
Eilish, who grew up in Los Angeles, called premiering there “a dream.” Reitman said the concert film’s selection validated the entire preservation project: “James Cameron, Billie Eilish and Paramount could have chosen any theater in L.A. to debut their groundbreaking concert film. We’re thrilled that they picked the Westwood Village.”
