{"id":4843,"date":"2026-01-03T08:53:03","date_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:53:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/the-sphere-the-wizard-of-oz-and-the-power-of-nostalgia-to-lure-moviegoers\/"},"modified":"2026-01-03T08:53:03","modified_gmt":"2026-01-03T08:53:03","slug":"the-sphere-the-wizard-of-oz-and-the-power-of-nostalgia-to-lure-moviegoers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/03\/the-sphere-the-wizard-of-oz-and-the-power-of-nostalgia-to-lure-moviegoers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Sphere, ‘The Wizard of Oz’ and the power of nostalgia to lure moviegoers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Apples dropping from the sky. Leaves blowing through the air. Simulated wind gusts. <\/p>\n

Sitting at the Sphere in Las Vegas earlier this year to see the 1939 film \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d Michelle Madrigal felt like she had been transported to Oz.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThe smells, the colors \u2026 it was just so beautiful to see in person,\u201d said Madrigal, a California-based content creator who drove three hours to catch the immersive movie experience. <\/p>\n

But the best part? Madrigal said she got to see \u201ca classic movie in a new way\u201d \u2014 on a 160,000 sq. ft. spherical screen. Billed as a \u201cfully immersive experience that uses all of Sphere\u2019s advanced technologies,\u201d the Sphere\u2019s goal in reimagining \u201cThe Wizard of Oz\u201d was to \u201cshowcase the experiential storytelling capabilities of this new medium,\u201d it said in a news release.<\/p>\n

Madrigal was one among the massive crowds that dished money \u2014 ranging from $100 to $400 per ticket \u2014 to see the film at the Sphere as part of an experience that opened in August. By December, Sphere Entertainment Co. said<\/a> it had generated nearly $200 million in ticket sales for \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d making it a hit. (The Sphere declined to comment for this article).<\/p>\n

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The Sphere\u2019s success comes as Hollywood is in a bind. Viewers\u2019 habits have been changing over the past decade, giving way to streaming giant Netflix\u2019s $82.7 billion deal to purchase Warner Bros.<\/a>, a move many in the industry fear will chill theatrical audience attendance, as people are increasingly more comfortable with waiting to watch from home.<\/p>\n

Not all venues have the technical capacities of the Sphere. But throughout 2025, various theaters and studios have also leaned into viewer nostalgia and in-person experiences.<\/p>\n

Offering unique experiences \u201cfurther differentiates the theater experience from the at-home experience,\u201d ComScore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian said. <\/p>\n

He compared \u201cthe communal, tactile, emotional experience\u201d that the theater can offer to attending concerts or sporting events live. <\/p>\n

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22-foot-tall ruby slippers outside the Sphere in Las Vegas for the premiere of the “The Wizard of Oz.”<\/span>Ethan Miller \/ Getty Images file<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For example, back in spring, to help them open \u201cFinal Destination: Bloodlines,\u201d Warner Bros. sent logging trucks spattered with fake blood out onto highways, in a reference to one of the horror franchise\u2019s infamous kill scenes. Lionsgate asked the audience of its influencer screening of Stephen King adaptation \u201cThe Long Walk\u201d to walk on treadmills while watching the film. And for the opening of Yorgos Lanthimos\u2019 \u201cBugonia\u201d this fall, Focus Features held a \u201cbald screening\u201c for hairless moviegoers, a nod to Emma Stone\u2019s character in the film. (Focus Features is a division of NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)<\/p>\n

IMAX, which boasts<\/a> 1,829 IMAX systems operating in 89 countries and territories, has made it an \u201cextremely high priority\u201d to continue to re-release films in the standard IMAX and IMAX 70MM formats, said Head of Global Distribution Heather Morgan. <\/p>\n

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Those screenings significantly contribute to the roughly 50 million IMAX tickets sold each year, according to Morgan. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want to be part of the conversation \u2026 they want to be part of something,\u201d said Morgan, who came to IMAX from Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas<\/a>, which has for years mastered programming strategies that resonate with audiences.<\/p>\n

Among IMAX\u2019s most popular re-releases this year was Stanley Kubrick\u2019s \u201cThe Shining,\u201d which received the theatrical re-release treatment for its 45th anniversary. Screenings across the country were jam-packed with people who were hoping to experience the iconic 1980 horror film in a different way. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s more communal,\u201d said student Scarlett Ortiz, who attended a screening in New York City in December. \u201cIt\u2019s about the people around you, not just the movie.\u201d <\/p>\n

Back in Las Vegas, the Sphere’s got big plans to continue showing “The Wizard of Oz” through at least April 2026. <\/p>\n

Billionaire James Dolan, the executive chairman and chief executive officer of Sphere Entertainment Co., has said he plans to open a Sphere in Abu Dhabi<\/a> and wants to open smaller versions in other locations. <\/p>\n

Dolan licensed the rights to the movie from Warner Bros. Discovery and reportedly spent<\/a> nearly $100 million to adapt the film. Both he and WBD CEO David Zaslav have minor cameos in the Sphere version, which is roughly 30 minutes shorter than its original.<\/p>\n

In an August earnings call with analysts, Dolan said, \u201cUltimately, we\u2019ll run ‘The Wizard of Oz’ forever. It\u2019s hard for me to imagine a better product than ‘Wizard of Oz.'”<\/p>\n

Wolfe Research analyst Peter Supino told The Hollywood Reporter in September<\/a> that the Sphere may be \u201cthe world\u2019s most profitable venue,\u201d adding that its success could lead to more re-creations “of other valuable IP” for the venue.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Apples dropping from the sky. Leaves blowing through the air. Simulated wind gusts. Sitting at the Sphere in Las Vegas earlier this year to see the 1939 film \u201cThe Wizard of Oz,\u201d Michelle Madrigal felt like she had been transported to Oz. \u201cThe smells, the colors \u2026 it was just so beautiful to see in <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":4844,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-4843","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4843","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4843"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4843\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4844"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4843"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4843"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marketsfortress.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4843"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}