One could reasonably maintain that the biggest cinematic event of the year is the newly recreated, immersive version of the 1939 classic movie THE WIZARD OF OZ that is now playing at the Sphere in Las Vegas.
The famous venue at the Venetian Resort opened two years ago with a residency of 40 live concerts by Irish rock band U2. Known primarily as a concert venue, it has since hosted performances by Phish, Dead & Company, the Eagles, and the Backstreet Boys.
On August 28th, it began playing 3 shows a day of THE WIZARD OF OZ, for a run that is scheduled to last through March 31, 2026, two weeks before the next CinemaCon conference begins next door at Caesar’s Palace. Each day, its three sold-out shows of the 77-minute 4D version of the classic movie generate $2 million at the box office, on one screen in a single venue.
Is this a harbinger of things to come? Probably not, at least in most ways. The budget for building the Sphere came to $2.3 billion, making it Vegas’ most expensive venue in history. It houses the world’s largest LED screen, which requires an enormous team of AV experts to program and maintain. Still, the idea of “reformulating” classic movies using AI and other special effects technology may be on the horizon, assuming that the studio owners of the Intellectual Property can iron out the legal and creative details.
This article from the film critic of the New York Times describes the experience of watching THE WIZARD OF OZ, complete with wrap-around extended frames, physical and visual special effects, and 25 minutes of deleted scenes that were viewed as superfluous to a modern sensibility.
