Would people be willing to pay almost $200 to see The Wizard of Oz on a giant screen? That’s the gamble the Las Vegas Sphere recently wondered ahead of the world premiere last month, and the gamble is paying off.
The famed venue, featuring a 160,000-square-foot screen that wraps up, over, and around the audience to create a fully immersive visual environment, recently started screening the 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. The business move has paid huge dividends, as The Sphere has reportedly sold hundreds of thousands of tickets to the unique event, and counting.
On the back of this instant success, The Hollywood Reporter reports that the move will likely kickstart a years-long process to adapt more titles to screen at The Sphere.
If that happens, Peter Supino, an analyst at Wolfe Research, forecasts The Sphere may become “the world’s most profitable venue.”
“We expect Wizard of Oz’s success will propel gross profit to over $500M in ’26, resulting in Sphere segment AOI approaching $200M, and making the underlying profits of the venue evidently clear and therefore SPHR more investable,” Supino writes in his forecast, via THR. “Wizard of Oz success also bolsters the odds of future franchise deals, all while giving confidence that Sphere can re-create other valuable IP (for less than the ~$100M spent on Wizard of Oz) and generate highly appealing returns.”
How The Sphere made it happen
The Sphere explained that, to take advantage of its immersive sound’s 167,000 programmable speakers and ability to direct sound anywhere in the venue, the original film’s score had to be re-recorded to take on “new clarity.”
What’s more, “multi-sensory 4D elements were combined and leveraged for maximum impact to make audiences feel like they are in the experience alongside the characters, such as high-velocity wind arrays, atmospheric fog, towering fire bursts, bubbles, and infrasound haptic seats.”
According to THR, The Sphere also spent nearly $100 million to reimagine the classic by cutting almost 20 minutes, while using artificial intelligence to dramatically upscale the film to fit on the venue’s gigantic screen.
Is Harry Potter and Star Wars next?
Bloomberg reported that Sphere CEO James Dolan, who also owns the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, had preliminary talks with Warner Bros. about possibly bringing the Harry Potter films to its massive screen.
The financial news outlet also reported that Dolan’s had similar talks with Disney about roping in Star Wars.
Related: Las Vegas Sphere Revenue Takes a Dip Despite ‘High Demand’
No more concerts at The Sphere?
It was only back in May when Dolan told investors during an earnings call that The Sphere has “more demand from artists than we have availability of slots” for concerts. Some recent residencies include Kenny Chesney and The Backstreet Boys.
It was during that same call, however, that Dolan said The Sphere would expand its film content showings.
But in a short amount of time, movies, not concerts, will be The Sphere’s bread and butter, according to Supino, who told THR, “We conservatively assume some Wizard of Oz shows will take the place of some concerts due to TheWizard of Oz’s greater level of profitability.”
