Evidently, there’s no place like dome.
When the Las Vegas Sphere announced it would refurbish the seminal Hollywood blockbuster “The Wizard of Oz” (using AI and digital effects) for its unique venue, many approached it with skepticism. But these concerns weren’t shared by everyone, with the Sphere generating up to $2 million a day from the experience — making more money than their more traditional concerts.
According to analyst reports, the opening weekend of “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” (which opened Aug. 28) nearly sold out, averaging $650,000 per show. Roughly 4,500 tickets were sold for each show at an average base price of $120 with added fees. In its nearly 5,000-seat showings (Sphere has capacity for roughly 20,000 people, but experiences like “Wizard of Oz” are more limited in seating), Sphere sold 49% and 86% of all tickets for its eight shows between Thursday, Sept. 4 and Sunday, Sept. 7. The lowest selling performance was an 11 a.m. show on Friday. TheWrap has learned that Sphere is selling tickets in the tens of thousands daily.
Those kinds of numbers signal a big opportunity for Sphere, which has largely placed its bets on big-name concert acts to pack the venue. The first film available on its unique wraparound screen was a documentary-style nature film directed by Darren Aronofsky, but that has largely been treated as a place-filler between music acts. “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” has the potential to flip the focus to more traditional cinematic experiences.
An analyst report states that Aronofsky’s “Postcard from Earth” grossed over $500 million across its run, which started Oct. 6, 2023. According to Bloomberg, Sphere executives are hopeful that “the production”The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” will bring in more than $1 billion before it wraps. Right now, the latest ticket being sold is an evening show on March 31, 2026, but this is not a set end date for the production.
It’s hard to compare “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” — and its achievements — to a film. Simply put, it’s not one. Rather, it’s much more in line with a theatrical experience, one where the show on the screen works in tandem with what’s occurring in the theater itself, including physical effects like wind blowing into the audience. It’s a curio, a never-before-seen production that can only be viewed at a single venue.
“It’s an experiential film,” producer Jane Rosenthal told TheWrap in August. “But it’s ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ first and foremost.”
As such, it becomes impossible to examine this experience by traditional box office metrics. If “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” indeed yields $14 million per week, that is a meager sum in comparison to your average blockbuster — especially given its cost. A recent rerelease of “Jaws” brought in more than $14 million itself between Aug. 21 and 29, and this past weekend “The Conjuring: Last Rites” brought in $83 million.
Yet those films have the benefit of being screened in more than a thousand of theaters nationwide. A $14-million per-theater-average is simply unheard of (for context, the highest average of all time came in 1994 when “The Lion King” averaged $793,376 across two theaters in its limited opening weekend).
On the flip side, there are the costs to consider. On top of the initial budget of the show (Sphere wouldn’t confirm, but Bloomberg estimated around $100 million), Sphere must contend with ongoing expenses to keep the show in operation — fees a normal movie doesn’t have. At the same time, the average ticket price is a far cry from the $20-$30 primetime fee you’ll find at your normal AMC, or even the cost of a pricier 4DX experiential screening.
In comparison to Sphere’s concerts, the high income of “The Wizard of Oz” makes sense when considering the capacity for repeat screenings. This week, Sphere is showing the experience at least twice per day, with three screenings scheduled for Sunday. The 75-minute runtime gives them the capacity to throw up a showtime even on days when concerts are already scheduled for the venue, bringing in multiple streams of daily revenue.
These early numbers are enough to give any venue an identity crisis. Though Sphere began primarily as a concert space, they are now bringing in more significant numbers from a single, 86-year-old movie.
Looking ahead
It will be interesting to see how word-of-mouth carries “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” going forward, and if the box office numbers established are sustainable. While many audiences found the film to be exciting and immersive, critics (after seeing the show) maintained that the tech still had a way to go. Once initial excitement passes, whether or not audiences continue to show up in droves and pay that premium in January remains to be seen.
An analyst report noted that Dolan told investors on a second-quarter earnings call that Sphere is still committed to growth and does not expect to see capital returns as of yet. Part of this growth is a play to expand Sphere to more locations globally, including in smaller formats.
Just as interesting is where the cinematic branch of Sphere plans to go from here. The venue has an extreme sports documentary, “From the Edge,” prepared for 2026. Sphere has additionally been looking at other films they can give the “Wizard of Oz” treatment.
A person familiar with the situation said there have been conversations about WB continuing to work with Sphere through its expansive cinematic library, and that these talks are not limited to a single franchise. Beyond “Harry Potter,” which Bloomberg cited as a potential next-at-bat, WB has access to “The Lord of the Rings,” “Dune,” “Mad Max,” “The Matrix” and DC Comics properties, among others.
An obvious layup, Bloomberg reported that Sphere also approached Disney about bringing “Star Wars” into the fold.
Sphere declined to comment on whether they were pursuing other films at this time.
Though these films will not be as novel as the first run of “Wizard of Oz,” it’s possible that they will draw even stronger crowds. “The Wizard of Oz” is a beloved staple of Hollywood — one that’s all the more relevant with the return of “Wicked” in the public consciousness — but it’s also nearly a century old. With culture-dominating franchises like “Star Wars” and “Harry Potter” on the table (both with more modern effects than were available for “The Wizard of Oz”), Sphere could take this concept to a whole new level.
More productions like “The Wizard of Oz” shouldn’t be expected soon. Sphere’s first cinematic reimagining took years to get off the ground, and “Wizard of Oz” is still slated until at least March. How quickly audiences can expect another one of these such shows remains to be seen.
But with $2 million a day, it’s likely Sphere will keep following the yellow brick road to more cinematic experiences going forward.
