The Wizard of Oz has returned as an unexpected hit at the Las Vegas Sphere. The reimagined 1939 musical blends classic cinema with modern technology, with reports suggesting it could reach $1 billion in revenue.
The Wizard of Oz becomes a blockbuster at the Sphere
The Wizard of Oz has become a major hit at the Las Vegas Sphere, according to a Bloomberg report, drawing between 4,000 and 5,000 attendees two or three times daily. Ticket prices average close to $200 each, resulting in daily sales of up to $2 million from a single location. Sphere executives estimate the film could gross hundreds of millions of dollars over the next year and potentially surpass $1 billion during its run.
Sphere chairman and CEO James Dolan licensed the rights to the film from Warner Bros. Discovery’s David Zaslav and invested nearly $100 million in adapting it for the venue’s LED screen.
Dolan shortened the film to 70 minutes and incorporated immersive effects, including 750-horsepower fans, which LA Times critic Amy Nicholson described as blowing her “bangs straight off my forehead.” Dolan confirmed in August that more than 120,000 tickets had already been sold before the film’s official opening.
The Sphere, which cost $2.3 billion to build, earns more revenue from films than concerts. Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino reported that while concerts bring in about $200 million annually, movies generate closer to $400 million with gross margins of 70%.
Unlike concerts where performers retain most of the sales, the Sphere keeps the majority of film revenue. Dolan has also sold over 4 million tickets to Darren Aronofsky’s Postcard From Earth.
Future projects are already in discussion. Dolan has spoken with Warner Bros. about bringing Harry Potter titles to the venue and with Disney regarding Star Wars. Glenn Derry, EVP of MSG Ventures, stated that the effects designed for The Wizard of Oz can be reused for other productions, describing them as “evergreen” (via The Hollywood Reporter).
Dolan confirmed plans to expand the Sphere to Abu Dhabi and build smaller versions worldwide. He remarked, “Ultimately, we’ll run The Wizard of Oz forever… It’s hard for me to imagine a better product than Wizard of Oz.”
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