The Wizard of Oz at Sphere is a 2025 American 4D film. It is an "immersive" version of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's 1939 musical fantasy film The Wizard of Oz, created specifically to be screened at Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley on the venue's 160,000-square-foot (15,000 m2) video screen at 16K resolution. To fit the venue's format, the film's visuals were altered or replaced with artificial intelligence (AI) generated images, the musical score was re-recorded, preserving Herbert Stothart’s original 1939 compositions, and multi-sensory effects were added to immerse audiences. It is the third film to be screened at the venue under the "Sphere Experience" program, following Darren Aronofsky's 2023 documentary Postcard from Earth and the 2024 concert film V-U2 that depicts U2's residency at Sphere. The Wizard of Oz at Sphere began screening on August 28, 2025. Critics were polarized by the film, with many praising the immersive aspects but criticizing the quality of the AI-generated visuals.
Plot
Atrium pre-show As guests enter the Sphere's atrium, the room is lit and designed to resemble sepia-toned Kansas as depicted in the film's opening scenes. Replicas of Professor Marvel's cart and the Wizard's hot air balloon, as well as glass-case displays showcasing historical prints of L. Frank Baum's original Oz books and a pair of ruby slippers from the late Debbie Reynolds' personal collection are showcased. The audience is then led into the auditorium 45 minutes before showtime.
Sphere experience
As the audience is seated, the Sphere's screen displays a sepia-tinted image of a large modern-day auditorium resembling that of Radio City Music Hall in New York City. At showtime, the sound of an orchestra tuning up and a conductor's baton can be heard, signaling that the film is about to begin as the lights dim. The auditorium's curtains then rise up on cue with the film's opening theme to reveal the MGM "Leo the Lion" logo (with the Cowardly Lion taking Leo's place inside the filmstrip circle and roaring once), segueing right into the opening credits sequence whose cloud background fills the entire screen, followed by the film itself. Highlights of the film experience include wind, fog and leaves blowing around the auditorium during the tornado scene, which now places the audience inside its funnel, butterflies flying across the theatre during the first scenes in Oz, foam-made apples falling from the ceiling when Dorothy and Scarecrow deal with the angry Apple Tree, snow falling onto the audience when Glinda the Good Witch of the North lifts the spell on the poison poppies, pyrotechnics during the scenes in the Wizard's throne room, and life-size flying monkeys flying into the audience through the use of UAV technology. After Dorothy's final line ("Oh, Auntie Em. There's no place like home!") and the original film's "The End" card and cast list, an added closing credits for the Sphere version is spread across the screen.
Atrium post-show At the conclusion of the film, the audience is led out of the auditorium and back into the atrium, now lit and designed to resemble the Emerald City in Technicolor. They are then directed by the Wizard's Guard towards a life-sized replica of the Wizard's throne room (complete with a projected motion-capture image of his ghostly green head) where guests interact with him.
Development
In 2024, an "immersive" version of the film was announced to be screening at Sphere in the Las Vegas Valley beginning on August 28, 2025. It is produced by Sphere Entertainment and Jane Rosenthal in collaboration with Google, Warner Bros., and VFX studio Magnopus. Artificial intelligence provided by Google AI was used to upscale the video resolution for the venue's 16K resolution screen and, using the Veo 2 and Imagen 3 Gemini models, generate additional imagery to expand shots beyond what was originally in frame. An estimated 1.2 petabytes of data were processed for the project. Traditional CGI visual effects were also employed by Crafty Apes, Digital Domain, Gradient Effects, Haymaker VFX and Zoic Studios for the tornado scene and a recreation of the Wizard's ghostly green head during his throne room scenes. Live multi-sensory effects such as flashing lights, haptics, wind, fog and scents will be employed during screenings of the film. Jennifer Lame served as editor, along with Ben Grossmann as visual effects specialist, Paul Freeman as principal audio artist and Zack Winokur as creative director. The film's soundtrack was also remastered to fit the Sphere's immersive sound system, in addition to having the entire score re-recorded with an 80-piece orchestra under the direction of David Newman, on the same scoring stage where it was originally recorded. The new recording preserves Herbert Stothart’s original 1939 Academy Award‑winning compositions. The changes made to select sequences resulted in the film's runtime also being shortened to 75 minutes from the original 101 minutes. Sphere Entertainment Executive Chairman and CEO James L. Dolan commented, "The original kind of dwelled on a few things that were somewhat superfluous." He added, "Everything you love about the movie, I guarantee, is in the movie." Among the cut material was the musical number "If I Were King of the Forest," sung by the Cowardly Lion as he, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Dorothy and Toto wait to see the Wizard outside his palace in the original film. Dolan and Warner Bros. Discovery's CEO David Zaslav make "two-second cameos" in the immersive film, their faces superimposed on two sailors in a rowboat during the tornado sequence.
Release and marketing
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