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As It Happened6:35Hollywood's Cinerama Dome movie theater reopens
Benjamin Steinberg can't wait to watch another movie under the warm glow of the geometric ceiling at Hollywood's Cinerama Dome.
It's a joy that has been denied to him and other moviegoers since 2021, when the Los Angeles cinema closes up shop and goes into its doors.
But now, after years of lobbying by Steinberg and others, Sony Pictures Entertainment has announced a plan to restore the Dome to its former glory and reopen it in early 2028 — just as the theaters are showing signs of emerging from a multi-year decline in ticket sales.
“I have many strong and beautiful memories of the theater,” Steinberg said As It Happened hosted by Nil Köksal. “It's one of the best places to watch a movie in the world.”
'It's a lovely place'
First opened in 1963, the movie theater is known for its geodesic dome structure, brightly colored signage, 9.8-by-26-meter curved screen and 70-mm film capacity.
The city designated the Dome as a Historical and Cultural Monument in 1998, a rarity for a building that had only been open for several decades.
“It's a lovely place,” said Adrian Scott Fine, CEO of the LA Conservancy, a nonprofit that works to preserve the city's historic sites.
When the Dome closed for good in April 2021, it had already been closed for more than a year. The double whammy of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increase in home transmission has been devastating.
The news was heartbreaking for many Angelinos, Fine said.
“It's one of those places where we get calls all the time at the end of, you know, six years asking what's going on with it, is it in danger of being demolished and is it going to reopen?” he said.
“So the fact that we finally have a resolution is welcome news in Los Angeles. We could all use more good news right now.”
Why now?
In a press conferenceSony said the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema chain will operate the Dome, as well as an adjacent 14-theater complex.
The company vowed to keep the theater's retro-futuristic feel, reminiscent of Toronto's now-closed Ontario Place Cinesphere or Montreal's Expo '67.
“Our goal is to preserve its legendary history while ensuring it remains vibrant now and into the future,” said Tom Rothman, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.
'The way Nolan intended.' The internet doesn't hold back when it comes to Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey. It is the first full-length film to be shot entirely on 70-mm Imax film cameras. But not every theater can show movies that way, and some say this leaves people out of the conversation.
Alison Whitney, a professor of film and media studies at Texas Tech University, says the announcement is timely box office returns again film revival run, in part, by Christopher Nolan The Odyssey.
“Being able to have a tangible relationship with the media is very appealing to people,” she said. “It's like going along with a true statement.”
This increase in movie ticket sales has been driven mostly by young moviegoersWhitney says they're looking for an alternative to the digital, algorithm-driven media environment they've grown up in.
“There's a kind of celebration of relative disruption,” he said. “That's part of the fun about going to the movies [that’s] what the film shows is that … you have to go to a special place to do it – or it's very easy to watch it on a streaming service.”
Looking for years
In his years-long effort to save the Dome, Steinberg organized rallies, he built relationships with Hollywood directorslaunched a petition with over 30,000 signatures and operated a social media account with nearly 12,000 followers.
He even hired a lighting expert earlier this year to project photos of property owners onto the front of the building to shame them into taking action – the protest brought a visit from the Los Angeles police.
Many times, he says, others encouraged him to quit.
“A lot of people just tell me, like, 'Oh, like, good luck. Like, it's not going to happen,'” he said.
When news broke that the theater had been saved, Steinberg says Sony contacted him.
He says he also receives messages from Hollywood celebrities and moviegoers around the world, including people who want help saving their local theaters.
“It was nice to get support and know that people care,” he said.
