For six years, the shuttered Cinerama Dome theater in Hollywood stood as a symbol of an industry in retreat — a beloved movie palace kept dark while streaming surged, studios cut back and audiences changed habits.
On Wednesday, Sony Pictures Entertainment, encouraged by a rising box office and growing demand for premium moviegoing experiences among younger audiences, said it would reopen the property. It is hoping to transform the Cinerama Dome from a symbol of Hollywood’s decline into one of its recovery.
“Hot damn! We’re bringing the Dome back, baby,” Tom Rothman, the chairman of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, said in a statement. “We believe in moviegoing down to our soul, and no venue on Earth stands more for that than the one-of-a-kind Dome.”
Sony said that it would begin restoring the single-screen, 956-seat geodesic landmark next month and that the effort would stretch into “early 2028.” The company said it had secured a long-term lease for the property but declined to comment on the exact term or price.
The reopening news comes as the box office in North America shows signs of stabilization after years of false starts. Domestic ticket sales are on track to total roughly $5.4 billion this year, up 10 percent from last year and the highest total since 2019, according to Rentrak, a film data service.
The Cinerama Dome, located on Sunset Boulevard in the heart of Hollywood, opened in 1963 with the premiere of “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.” In recent years, it has been boarded up with plywood, its empty marquee and trash-littered entryway a stark reminder to many Angelenos of an industry battered by the pandemic, labor strikes and the migration of film and television production to states and countries with richer tax incentives.
For years, the Forman family, which owns the property, insisted it would reopen the Dome itself, repeatedly pushing back target dates while declining to lease the complex to another operator. Efforts by Regal Cinemas and AMC Entertainment, the two largest multiplex chains in North America, to reopen the theater went nowhere. A representative for the Forman family did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ravi Ahuja, chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said Sony would also reopen an adjacent 14-screen theater complex in 2028. Formerly an ArcLight Cinemas property, the complex will become an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. It will house several premium-format screens with immersive audio and laser projection, including 70 milimeter capabilities.
“This is a meaningful moment for our company, our industry and Los Angeles,” Mr. Ahuja said.
Sony bought the 40-location Alamo Drafthouse chain in 2024. The chain is known for offering distinctive programming — well beyond the studio blockbusters of the moment — and serving a full menu of food, beer, wine and cocktails directly to patrons’ seats. The Dome, which has an 86-foot-wide, deeply curved screen, will also be operated by Alamo. But it will not become a dine-in theater, Sony said.
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