Orinda Theatre Unveils Disney Restorations Film Series Taking Place Each Month in 2026

January 7 Update: The theater has confirmed the version of Star Wars: A New Hope that will be shown on February 7th is the 2019 version with restoration work by the Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Restoration and Library Management Department

The Orinda Theatre in Orinda, California will debut a new movie series in 2026 showcasing recent film restorations by The Walt Disney Studios.

What's Happening:

• The new Disney Restorations Series begins at the Orinda Theatre with a screening of Cinderella on Sunday, January 3rd, and will continue each first Saturday of the month through 2026.
• In addition to featuring Disney-created films, the Restoration and Library Management department of Walt Disney Studios has also became custodian and archive for several additional library brands acquired by the studio, including the collections of 20th Century Fox, Fox Film Corp. and the David O. Selznick film libraries.
• Since these libraries were acquired, the Restoration and Library Department, under the direction of Kevin Schaeffer, has effected a rigorous and active restoration schedule of these titles and assets in addition to the Disney studio library materials. Many of these films have been unavailable to theaters for several years.
• After Cinderella on January 3rd, the new Disney restoration of Star Wars: A New Hope will show on February 7th.
• UPDATE (January 7, 2026): According to Matías Antonio Bombal (who is hosting the restoration series at Orinda), the version of A New Hope that will screen is a 2019 restoration of the 1997 special edition. Thus, this is not the version we're anticipating for the 2027 re-release that will celebrate the film's 50th anniversary.

• Other newly restored films that will be featured at the Orinda Theatre this year include:
  • Blood & Sand (1941) – 85th anniversary with Tyrone Power and Rita Hayworth
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
  • Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat (1944)
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  • The Sword in the Stone (1963)
  • Planet of the Apes (1968)
  • Shirley Temple in Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm (1938)
  • Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974)
  • Nightmare Alley (1947)
  • Noël Coward’s Cavalcade (1933)
  • Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck in Spellbound (1945)
• The Orinda Theatre is the first theater in the nation to showcase these restorations in a year-long series, highlighting the commitment of Disney to film preservation.

• These beautiful restorations are shown the first Saturday of each month at 1 and 7 p.m.
• A select number of the year’s screenings will have a special presentation from a representative of the Disney Restoration and Library Management Department to introduce the movie and share before and after restoration comparisons on the screen.
• Tickets are available at the box office or orindamovies.com at $13 for general, $11 for seniors 65 or better, kids 12 and under.

More Disney Movie News:

• The success of Avatar: Fire and Ash has propelled The Walt Disney Studios past the $6 billion worldwide threshold.
• A beloved character from the MCU makes his grand return in the first teaser released for Avengers: Doomsday.
• Disney has moved up the release dates for Ready or Not 2 and Pixar's Gatto, while pushing back the release of the latest film from Ridley Scott.
• We're getting closer to the debut of Pixar's newest film, Hoppers, meaning the marketing machine is in full force with Empire debuting a new image from the film.