A happy ending in Malibu

IT was 40 minutes before the afternoon showing of “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End,” and things were getting busy outside Malibu’s only movie house, in the Cross Creek Center.

Two minivans pulled up, spilling out seven little girls, all of them shrieking as they raced up to the “Shrek the Third” poster.

By all appearances, Malibu’s cinema scene has fully rebounded since an April 2005 fire damaged what was then the Cross Creek Plaza Theater, forcing it to shut down. The new theater -- christened Malibu Cinemas -- opened last November to rave reviews, and the fans are still more than pleased with what emerged from the ashes. As the summer movie season begins, shows are booking up days in advance and weekends are sold out.

“It’s way nicer,” declared Victoria Spilabotte, 19, a Malibu resident who was first in line for “Pirates.” She called its predecessor “just old.”

Some grumble that the screens weren’t made bigger, but the intimacy (one theater seats 150, the other 50) suits the crowd-loathing people of the ‘bu.

“It’s like a private, movie-mogul-type screening room,” said Michelle Poswillo, leader of the “Shrek” troupe.

-- Nicole LaPorte