Sphere Gets Wicked: ‘Wizard of Oz' Experience Coming to Vegas Venue
Follow the Yellow Brick Road and you might end up at Sphere, the cutting-edge concert venue located just east of the Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada.
A brand new 'Wizard of Oz' experience will play at the venue, which is owned by Sphere Entertainment (formerly Madison Square Garden Entertainment), starting in August 2025. The original 1939 Victor Fleming film will be screened on the massive, wraparound LED screen, which comes in at a 16K resolution, with 4D physical effects, with AI being used to fill out the image on the massive screen.
'Our goal for The Sphere Experience is a diverse slate that leverages Sphere's power as an experiential medium,' said Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment. 'The Wizard of Oz' will be presented as a fully immersive experience in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google, and Magnopus, using cutting-edge technologies to enhance the original film. But a press release notes that 'The Wizard of Oz at Sphere' will 'maintain the integrity of the original while pushing the boundaries of Sphere's experiential medium.'
In addition to 'Wizard of Oz,' Sphere also unveiled 'From the Edge,' an athlete-centric experience set to debut in 2026. Directed by Academy Award winners E. Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin ('Free Solo') 'From The Edge' will feature premier athletes – free diver Alenka Artnik, skier Markus Eder, rock climber Alex Honnold, BASE jumper Katie Hansen Lajeunesse, and surfer Kai Lenny – and take audiences inside the world of extreme sports.
When Sphere opened to the public in the fall of 2023, U2 was its inaugural act, but there has also been a film running since then – 'Postcard from Earth,' a 55-minute pseudo-documentary directed by Darren Aronofsky. The movie has been running since and has been extremely popular, as a way of sampling the incredible sound and visuals Sphere has to offer, without shelling out for whatever U2 is charging. Some days the movie plays three times a day, with the cheapest tickets selling for around $95.
'Postcards\ from Earth,' along with the U2 show, have utilized custom visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic; designed and developed with Sphere's unique properties in mind. (The testing ground for the arena is a smaller version of Sphere, just outside the airport in Burbank.)
A 'Wizard of Oz' play seems smart, given the renewed interest in the property thanks to the runaway success of Universal's 'Wicked.' That Jon M. Chu-directed film, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has made over $460 million worldwide since it opened on Thanksgiving weekend. A second film, 'Wicked: For Good,' will open on November 21, 2025.
And Las Vegas is no stranger to 'The Wizard of Oz.' When the MGM Grand opened in 1993, it was fully decked out with elaborate 'Wizard of Oz' theming – there was a 'magical Emerald City' (according to early marketing materials), animatronic figures, a Yellow Brick Road walk-through attraction and a casino with a glittery rainbow ceiling. By 1996, with the city pivoting away from its family friendly aspirations, much of the theming was removed.
Being able to see 'The Wizard of Oz' inside the 17,600-seat auditorium, which includes speakers (equipped with 'beamforming' technology and wave field synthesis – basically next-level spatial audio), will certainly be an experience – and it should help ease the financial burden of the $2.3 billion venue.
Last year Sphere Entertainment reported fourth-quarter revenue of $308.3 million, but the company's Sphere segment posted an operating loss of $142.9 million for the quarter. During an earnings call, Sphere CEO Jim Dolan compared the first year of operating the venue as the 'first pancake.' 'It's the first time we've done it, and we've learned, and we're getting better at it,' Dolan said during the call. 'I wish that the day we lit it up, that we knew exactly how to run it, exactly how to sell it, and exactly how to, you know, program it, etc. But that's just not the case.'
'The Wizard of Oz' is the latest attempt by the company to diversify its Sphere offerings, which not only include concerts (like The Eagles, Dead & Co. and a return of the U2 show) but also live sporting event UFC 306 and the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. Sphere is also part of the F1 Las Vegas Strip Circuit.
The post Sphere Gets Wicked: 'Wizard of Oz' Experience Coming to Vegas Venue appeared first on TheWrap.
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