SALA fills July with movies, community events and World Cup viewing

SALA is stacking July with enough screenings and community events to keep Los Alamos families close to home through the peak of summer. The former Reel Deal Theater, now SALA Los Alamos Event Center, is mixing first-run movies, classics, themed nights and live gathering space at 2551 Central Avenue, with beer, wine and handmade pizza from Pi-239 Pizzeria on the menu.

A neighborhood venue built for more than movies

SALA says it is open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 to 8 p.m. for movies, events, food and drinks, and it describes itself as a member-supported event center and social enterprise, not just a theater. That distinction matters in a county where the nearest big-city entertainment can mean a drive out of town. The county’s business directory also lists SALA as a member-supported cinema and community venue that hosts new and classic film screenings, cultural programs, private events, fundraisers and community gatherings.

The building’s current role reflects a longer local lineage. SALA says its story is tied to Los Alamos entertainment history that runs from the Los Alamos Ranch School to the White Roxy Theater, Centre Theater and The Hill Theater. The venue is now run by Allan Saenz and Sammi Owens, who have been working to shape the space into a more flexible hub for screenings, rentals and neighborhood events.

The July movie calendar goes well beyond a normal theater listing

The monthly film lineup is broad enough to serve different ages and different tastes without requiring a trip out of county. SALA’s announcement names new theatrical releases and coming attractions such as Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Minions & Monsters, Obsession, Masters of the Universe, Moana, The Odyssey and Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Its New Reels program runs every Friday through Sunday and is sponsored by Casa Los Alamos, giving the theater a regular weekend anchor for current films.

The classics series, sponsored by Wiemann Wealth, adds another layer that regular multiplex schedules usually do not. July’s classic titles include Stand By Me, Rear Window, Jaws and National Lampoon’s Vacation, which gives grandparents, parents and kids a reason to choose the same room on the same night. That mix of fresh releases and older favorites is what makes SALA feel less like a standard movie house and more like a shared local schedule.

Special events give the month its community texture

Theater programming becomes more useful when it is attached to a reason to gather, and SALA has lined up several of those reasons in July. Date Night returns on July 2 with The Lego Movie, PJ’s & Movies brings The Wild Robot on July 4, and the Faith and Community Series shows I Still Believe on July 11. Parallel Cinema is scheduled for July 18 with La Educación Prohibida, and National Theatre Live will screen Les Liaisons Dangereuses on July 23 and July 26.

SALA is also continuing a free family-friendly partnership with the Los Alamos History Museum at 6:30 p.m. on June 14, June 28 and July 19. The films in that series are Hidden Figures, National Treasure and Night at the Museum, with the July 19 screening giving families one more low-cost summer outing that is built for mixed ages. Later in the month, the calendar also includes weekly church services and a urology seminar with Los Alamos Medical Center, further widening the venue’s role beyond film.

The big-screen schedule helps fill a real summer gap

For residents looking for a place to watch the World Cup without leaving town, SALA’s ticketing calendar lists World Cup on the Big Screen running through July 19, 2026. The page also shows multiple screening times on June 25, June 26, June 27 and June 28, which signals that the venue is trying to create an ongoing communal watch space rather than a one-night novelty. For sports viewers, that kind of shared setup can matter as much as the match itself.

The budget-friendly piece is just as important. SALA Summer Wednesdays offers a full day of movies for $5 every Wednesday from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and the theater says the series is designed for all ages. That makes the venue one of the few local options where a family can spend an entire day indoors, keep costs down and still get a mix of age groups into the same building.

That affordability theme shows up again in the theater’s broader plan. In March 2026, SALA said it was seeking $50,000 for Phase Two upgrades that would expand the bar and concessions area, improve the marquee and display setup, add HVAC improvements, renovate the bathrooms and build two permanent theater stages. Those are not cosmetic touches alone. They are the infrastructure of a place trying to hold moviegoers, event crowds and community partners under one roof.

Taken together, July’s calendar shows why SALA has become a practical summer option as much as a cultural one. It gives Los Alamos a place to catch new releases, revisit older films, join a free museum night, watch the World Cup and stay local when the summer calendar gets crowded and expensive.