Slowly and surely, the re-release of The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere in Las Vegas may break the United States box office records if it counts as a theatrical release, with potentially over $1 billion during its run.

The venue had been losing a tremendous amount of money daily due to its high operational costs since its opening in September 2023. The company tried everything to generate attendance from the film documentaries, filmed concerts, and now live concerts.

Finally, it may have found its profitable niche with AI-enhanced re-released films.

The Sphere spent less than $100 million to recreate the film The Wizard of Oz for its enhanced experience. Audiences paid an average of $200 per ticket, and it’s been selling out nearly every available showing since the film’s premiere last month. It translates to generating almost $2 million per day for The Sphere.

According toThe Hollywood Reporter, The Sphere teamed up with Warner Bros. and producer Jane Rosenthal to cut 20 minutes of the film and used AI to dramatically upscale to fit the 160,000 square foot screen. As an Easter Egg, Sphere chairman and CEO James Dolan and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav digitally inserted themselves into the film for cameos.

Due to the initial success, Bloomberg has reported there are preliminary discussions with Warner Bros. about re-releasing the Harry Potter films and with Disney about re-releasing the Star Wars films.

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According to Wolfe Research, The Wizard of Oz re-release should generate over $500 million in gross profits in 2026. That’s gross profits—not ticket sales.

And the word-of-mouth of social media is helping its cause with videos of apples falling on the audience, the tornado wind effects, and even flying monkeys flying overhead.

Immersive theatrical experiences may sound expensive, but they may be the next step into cinema. The Cosm in Los Angeles is having a very successful run with its immersive experience of The Matrix on the 8K cinema screen currently.

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Source: The Hollywood Reporter