The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures will open in “late 2019” with a retrospective of Japanese animation director Hayao Miyazaki, Academy officials announced Tuesday.

The Academy also gave a preview of the long-term exhibit, titled ‘Where Dreams Are Made: A Journey Inside the Movies,” that will be in place when the museum opens to paying customers next year. The exhibits are intended to tell the story of the development of film technology and craft, while conveying its social and cultural impact. The designers are also trying to create a “wow” factor, with galleries intended to awe visitors with the emotional power of film.

The museum at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue has been in development for seven years, and under construction since early 2016. The Academy has raised $281 million toward a goal of $388 million. The opening was initially projected for 2016, and then delayed several times. Last year, officials had stated that the museum would open at some point in 2019, without being more specific. They now say the opening is about a year away.


“It hasn’t been easy,” said Dawn Hudson, the Academy CEO, at a luncheon at the Petersen Automotive Museum. “It’s an enormous undertaking and full of risk.”

Kerry Brougher, the museum director, announced that the first special exhibition will be the Miyazaki retrospective. The museum has been working with Studio Ghibli to develop the exhibition.

“We wanted to come out of the gate with an international figure… to show this museum is not just about Hollywood,” Brougher said. “This will be an international museum of global perspective.”

The second exhibition, set for 2020, will be titled “Regeneration: Black Cinema 1900-1970.” The Academy is working with the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American History and Culture on the project.