Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, located in Los Angeles, is the largest museum in the United States dedicated to the arts, sciences, and artists of moviemaking. Housed in the historic May Company Building, the museum offers immersive exhibitions, screenings, and educational programs that illuminate the world of cinema. Visitors can explore diverse collections, including rare artifacts and interactive displays, providing insights into the history and impact of film. The museum also features a café and store, enhancing the visitor experience.

Planning your visit

The Academy Museum opened in 2021 in the restored May Company building on Wilshire, with Renzo Piano's spherical concrete-and-glass theatre attached behind it like a balloon tethered to the corner. It is the largest American museum devoted to filmmaking, run by the organisation that awards the Oscars.

The collections are the Academy's own and they are extraordinary: costumes, props, scripts, production design, cameras, and objects including Dorothy's ruby slippers and the shark from Jaws suspended overhead. The Stories of Cinema galleries cover the craft disciplines — editing, sound, cinematography, makeup — with a seriousness that treats film as collaborative labour rather than director-worship.

The Oscars experience lets visitors stage a simulated acceptance speech, which is exactly as enjoyable as it sounds.

The museum has faced criticism over how it handled Hollywood's own history, particularly the studios' Jewish founders, and has added exhibitions in response.

Two theatres screen from the archive, and the programming is a substantial part of the offer.

Bookable options are entry tickets. Current availability is shown below.