{"id":348259,"date":"2025-09-19T05:35:42","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T10:35:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/sphere-touts-500000-tickets-sold-for-wizard-of-oz-reboot\/"},"modified":"2025-09-19T05:35:42","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T10:35:42","slug":"sphere-touts-500000-tickets-sold-for-wizard-of-oz-reboot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/19\/sphere-touts-500000-tickets-sold-for-wizard-of-oz-reboot\/","title":{"rendered":"Sphere Touts 500,000 Tickets Sold for “Wizard of Oz” Reboot"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n \"Scott <\/a>\n <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

It may be a 90-year-old movie, but \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d is a hit all over again at Sphere Las Vegas.<\/p>\n

The venue recently shared it has sold 500,000 tickets to the slimmed down, A.I.-augmented take on the cinematic classic. The movie opened at Sphere on Aug. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n

That works out to be $65 million in ticket sales so far. The movie cost $80 million to retool for Sphere\u2019s glorious screen.<\/p>\n

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That\u2019s right, the Wicked Witch and Nikko the flying monkey were standing over a sphere. A.I. added the cash. Ah, the circularity of the universe.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Another fun fact: Sphere sold more than 280,000 tickets in just the 15 days following its debut at the venue.<\/p>\n

In layperson\u2019s jargon: That\u2019s a metric shit-ton of tickets.<\/p>\n

This is the part of our story where we remind everyone that we were the first to share<\/a> news Sphere would be bringing \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d to its screen. A full two months before any other media outlet. This is not bragging. It\u2019s a factual recounting of events exactly as they happened.<\/p>\n

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Sensing a theme yet?<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

While Sphere isn\u2019t profitable yet due to its ungodly construction cost ($2.3 billion), heavy debt load and interest expenses, along with high fixed and operating costs, but \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d is definitely a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n

On the bright side, Sphere\u2019s losses are getting smaller, so there\u2019s that.<\/p>\n

Did we predict an old-timey movie refreshed for an IMAX screen would sell 500,000 tickets? As the kids say, hell-to-the-no.<\/p>\n

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The \u201cOz\u201d in author L. Frank Baum\u2019s book \u201cThe Wonderful Wizard of Oz\u201d comes from the filing cabinet in his office. There were drawers labeled A\u2013N and O\u2013Z. The rest is history.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sphere\u2019s reinvented \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d wasn\u2019t guaranteed to be a success. There was controversy right out of the gate.<\/p>\n

Purists lost their minds when they heard the running time would be cut from the original 102 minutes to about 75 minutes.<\/p>\n

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You can tell the Sphere version of \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d was made for Las Vegas because the line \u201cHey, poppies!\u201d was changed to \u201cAy, papi!\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Some have said this \u201cWizard of Oz\u201d isn\u2019t the real \u201cWizard of Oz.\u201d A.I. fills in parts of the frame with things that didn\u2019t exist in the original movie. You know, compromising the visual integrity of a timeless classic.<\/p>\n

Meh. This isn\u2019t really about the movie. It\u2019s about the experience.<\/p>\n

Audiences are treated to not only the visual spectacle, but also sensory effects.<\/p>\n

Sphere\u2019s \u201cOz\u201d-travaganza layers in wind gusts, fog, rumbling seats, scents, snow, bubbles, flying monkeys, fire bursts and even raining apples (made of spongy foam) to turn the movie into a sensory feast.<\/p>\n

This ain\u2019t your grandpa\u2019s \u201cWizard of Oz.\u201d Honestly, your grandpa would probably have a cardiac arrest seeing tickets range from $100 to $350. To watch a movie. In Las Vegas. Hey, we aren\u2019t going to yuck anyone\u2019s yum. Unless it\u2019s cigar smokers. They\u2019re douche canoes.<\/p>\n

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Enjoy this world premiere of a song we made for you. We can’t stop singing it and hope you do not have the same experience, probably. pic.twitter.com\/f0BKdxYJWj<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Vital Vegas (@VitalVegas) September 7, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Reviews have been largely positive, mainly because many of our fellow youths attending the show have never seen the original \u201cWizard of Oz,\u201d so they have nothing to compare it to.<\/p>\n

\u201cWizard of Oz\u201d has been an undeniable success for the venue, and Sphere has become a must-do in Las Vegas, no matter who or what is showing on the screen. Sphere has caused some pain at other entertainment venues, but that\u2019s how things work in this town. Only the strong survive. There\u2019s no clicking-of-heels to return to a time pre-Sphere, so everyone else needs to up their game.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n