Netflix in talks to buy the Egyptian Theatre

Streaming giant Netflix is rapidly renting up office space in Hollywood, now the company is reportedly in talks to make a purchase. Deadline reports that Netflix is in “preliminary talks” to buy the Egyptian Theatre, a landmarked 1920s-era movie palace built for showman Sid Grauman.

Located east of Hollywood and Highland, the Egyptian is owned by the nonprofit American Cinematheque and is used to host special screenings, talks with notable filmmakers, and film festivals. It spent nearly $13 million on a renovation of the Egyptian in 1998.

Sources tells Deadline that the discussions seem to have both Netflix and the Cinematheque making use of the space, with Netflix using the historic theater for screenings and private events on weeknights and the Cinematheque running its programming on weekends.

Neither Deadline nor Bloomberg, which independently confirmed that talks are in progress, mention exactly how much the Egyptian might change hands for, though Deadline hears it would be in the “many tens of millions of dollars.” Both agree that the deal would represent a serious windfall for the American Cinematheque, which also owns the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica.

The Egyptian’s location would be very convenient for Netflix, which leases an entire 14-story building and 92,000 square feet of space on the Sunset Bronson Studios lot. Late last year the company signed on to rent the entirety of a 13-story building under construction across from Sunset Bronson, as well as all the office space in the Academy on Vine project, which takes up an entire city block near Vine Street and De Longpre Avenue.