Grauman's Chinese Theatre, a Hollywood landmark that attracts millions of tourists each year to see generations of movie stars' hand and footprints in its outdoor courtyard, has been sold to a major developer, the Los Angeles Times reported.

CIM Group, the largest commercial landlord in Hollywood, bought the 80-year-old theatre for an undisclosed amount and said it has no plans to change the legendary venue for movie premieres and will continue to operate it as a film house.

The purchase continues CIM's string of acquisitions in the heart of Hollywood, where the developer already owns nearly all the property on the north side of a two-block stretch of Hollywood Boulevard.

"It's important to us that key properties like Grauman's don't fall into the wrong hands," Shaul Kuba, a principal at CIM Group, reportedly said.

The theatre was sold to CIM by the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Centre of New York and Barlow Respiratory Hospital of Los Angeles.

John Given, another principal at CIM, said the group had been very interested in purchasing the Chinese Theatre since its 2004 acquisition of neighbouring Hollywood and Highland complex where Kodak Theatre, home to the annual Academy Awards, is located.

Built in 1927 by impresario Sid Grauman, the 1,162-seat theatre is considered the epicentre of Hollywood and one of Southern California's top tourist attractions.

The theatre itself is one of the most recognisable buildings in the world with its exotic architectural style. The two giant stone Heaven Dogs guarding its entrance are original artefacts brought from China by Grauman.

The Los Angeles-based CIM Group controls more than a dozen office, retail and residential properties in Hollywood, and its desire to sell large-scale advertising on these buildings has led to disputes with neighbourhood residents.

Robert Nudelman, a local preservationist with Hollywood Heritage Inc., said CIM needed to be a better neighbour. "They're trashing out the neighbourhood with billboards," he said.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the rapid pace of change in Hollywood in recent years has included billions of dollars' worth of residential and commercial development, unnerving some residents who worry that the historic character of the neighbourhood may be lost.