The Hollywood Theatre now offers open captions! Unlike closed captions, open captions are visible to everyone in the auditorium, similar to subtitles in a foreign-language film.
Due to technological limitations, we cannot offer open captions for any movies screened on film (16mm, 35mm, 70mm), nor are they available for many older films, even in a digital format. Open captions are available for most of our first-run films.
We will have all of our designated open captions screenings listed on this page, so check back from time to time for updates. To receive email notifications about upcoming screenings, sign up here.
FAQ
I’ve heard of Closed Captions—what are Open Captions?
It means that these movies will be presented with captioned dialogue onscreen—similar to a subtitled foreign film. “Closed Captions” refers to captions that can be turned on or off by the user, like on a streaming service or handheld device. “Open Captions” means that captions are included as part of the viewing experience and can’t be turned off.
Why are you showing movies with Open Captions?
Presenting movies with captions onscreen makes movies more accessible to people who are deaf, hard of hearing, have difficulty understanding spoken language, or simply prefer to watch movies with captions on.
Why don’t you offer Open Captions for every film you’re showing?
New releases are increasingly being offered with the option to turn on Open Captions, but many older digital releases don’t have this accessibility feature. Movies on film—16mm, 35mm, or 70mm—don’t have this option available at all.
I'd like to use Open Captions, but I can't make it to your designated screening.
To request Open Captions at a different screening, send us an email and we will do our best to make it happen. This is a new program for us, so please bear with us as we get things up and running.
I’m glad you’re doing this—how can I support it?
Help us get the word out! Tell your friends that the Hollywood is now offering Open Captions screenings—and tell us if there’s anything we can do to implement or communicate this more effectively.