Pics from the show ... #WozatSphere ... @SphereVegas @neonlasvegas https://t.co/5hGx1ZgtmB
Twister bid from first night of ""Wizard of Oz at @SphereVegas," blowing it out as it sets up for a long run ... @neonlasvegas https://t.co/rRmZfC7BJV
The Wizard of Oz immersive effects at the Sphere in Vegas https://t.co/aFhxg56BTf
Sphere Entertainment on Thursday premiered a 75-minute, AI-remastered edition of the 1939 classic “The Wizard of Oz,” transforming its Las Vegas dome into an immersive Land of Oz. The film is projected across the venue’s 160,000-square-foot, 16K LED screen while 4D elements—750-horsepower fans for tornado scenes, confetti, and 16-foot helium monkeys steered by drones—extend the action into the 18,600-seat auditorium. The project was developed over two years by roughly 2,000 artists and engineers from Sphere Studios, Google and Warner Bros. Discovery. Google’s generative-AI models Imagen, Veo and Gemini were used for super-resolution upscaling, out-painting and performance generation, allowing the original 35 mm footage to fill the multi-story screen and to create new transitional shots that keep characters in view without altering the storyline. The score was rerecorded on MGM’s historic soundstage to match the upgraded visuals. Sphere reported that more than 215,000 tickets—priced from about $104—have already been sold for the open-ended run through March. The premiere drew Hollywood figures and a brief, tongue-in-cheek two-second cameo of Warner Bros. Discovery Chief Executive David Zaslav and Sphere head James Dolan, digitally inserted into background roles. The launch marks one of the highest-profile commercial uses of generative AI in a major studio property, underscoring both the technology’s creative potential and the industry debate over its broader impact on filmmaking jobs.