The Iconic Hollywood Cinerama Dome Gets a Revival;

After being shuttered for over six years, the long-lasting Cinerama Dome, a true Hollywood landmark, is slated to be restored and reopened.

This is big and, with the horrible paperwork and disregard for landmarks in California, a close to miracle.

We have actually never been more back!

Last evening, we lit up the beloved Hollywood landmark, The Cinerama Dome, with a nod to Columbia Pictures first-ever premiere there: Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Today we welcome a new period for a cathedral of cinema not like any other. pic.twitter.com/qQqBY7qVVs

— Sony Pictures (@SonyPictures) July 22, 2026

Most every memorable film boasts a thrilling plot twist or an outsized incidence that prompts an audible ripple of gasps from viewers members.

Such a made-for-the-movies second arrived for the Cinerama Dome, that unmistakable, much-obsessed-over, long-shuttered Hollywood cinema, on July 22.

Prompting the excited ripple among followers of the actually domed theater, which shuttered in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, adopted by a formal announcement of closure in the spring of 2021?

Sony Pictures Entertainment and Alamo Drafthouse are set to “restore and reopen” the landmark, a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument positioned on Sunset Boulevard close to Vine. The Cinerama Dome is not just a local treasure: It was “the world’s first all-concrete geodesic dome,” a true architectural marvel with midcentury aptitude to spare.

Actor and filmmaker Benjamin Steinberg (“Brooklyn Nine Nine” “Shining Vale”) runs the Save Your Cinema marketing campaign, which was instrumental in conserving at the forefront the neglect and complete disregard for this landmark and the need to discover a means to see it restored and reopened.

In a prolonged X post (linked below), Steinberg said, in half:

Getting it to reopen has been a six 12 months odyssey for me. I’ve made many new associates along the way in which and I’m grateful for many people supporting me. I began the petition to save the Cinerama Dome within minutes of discovering out it was shutting down and it acquired over 30 thousand signatures. I used to be in a position to reveal the 2023 reopening plans and then break the unhappy news about it being formally cancelled. Many people told me to give up. Industry figures that I deeply admire told me it could be inconceivable to persuade the household possession to reoepen it or have it leased to another exhibitor contemplating their other deserted cinemas and lack of communication to me. I used to be called delusional. People made enjoyable of me. Instead, I held protests, spoke with metropolis leaders, supplied updates from public data, up to date the media, repeatedly pressed the house owners. I had conversations with filmmakers ranging from Wes Anderson to Quentin Tarantino about it. A few months in the past I projected the photographs of the house owners faces onto the Dome asking them to reopen and they called the police on me. That was really a miracle in disguise. I acquired consideration from all around the world and the Cinerama Dome grew to become a matter of dialog again.

That was the shot in the arm. Sony Pictures Entertainment and Alamo Drafthouse, an American cinema chain, ponied up and partnered up to launch the method of restoring the Cinerama Dome.

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) and wholly-owned subsidiary Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, today announced plans to reopen and restore the long-lasting Cinerama Dome, a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument positioned in the center of Hollywood, following a 6-year shutdown that started during the COVID pandemic. The deal reinforces SPE’s long-held dedication to theatrical exhibition and expands its investment in distinctive leisure experiences.

With the period of the COVID nightmare and the accessibility of streaming, an complete technology is aware of nothing about distinctive leisure experiences. They have never skilled the anticipation of standing in line for a “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” an “Independence Day,” or a “Top Gun Maverick.” Big movies, made for the Big screens, are almost useless. Sony and Alamo Drafthouse need to revive them again. Preserving areas just like the Cinerama Dome and making them shine is a component of the plan.

The Dome will bear restorative renovations beginning next month through early 2028 and be operated by Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. Its historic legacy and singular moviegoing expertise can be honored and rigorously preserved, with the long-lasting “Cinerama” identify and exterior branding left intact. The restoration will honor the landmark’s distinctive aesthetic character, immersive large-format curved-screen presentation, and conventional concession expertise that have made it a beloved vacation spot for generations. While the Dome is not going to operate as a dine-in theater, its conventional programming can be complemented by Alamo Drafthouse’s signature programming including repertory screenings, filmmaker sequence, premieres, and particular occasions.

Having lived in Los Angeles for over 30 years, it’s a one-of-a-kind expertise to see a movie in 70 millimeter at the Cinerama Dome; so it’s great that these firms have come together to lock in that alternative for a entire new technology of theatergoers. 

Since 1963, the Dome has been celebrated as one of the world’s premier venues for 70mm exhibition, internet hosting era-defining premieres and unforgettable cinematic occasions. Its roughly 86-foot-wide, deeply curved screen was engineered to immerse audiences in an extraordinary panoramic viewing expertise. The theater helped pioneer a new period of large-format cinematic presentation and stays one of the most distinctive moviegoing environments ever created.

Before the doorways had been shuttered, the precise Dome was expanded to incorporate a 14-screen theater advanced run by ArcLight Cinemas. ArcLight tried to do what Sony and Alamo Drafthouse search to revitalize: curated movie experiences. However, the company fell sufferer to the problems I famous above. Here’s hoping Alamo Drafthouse has better fortune in managing the Dome, along with the other screens.

The theater will offer Alamo Drafthouse premium displays and dine-in companies, curated programming, repertory screenings, occasions, designated karaoke rooms, and fan celebrations. The advanced will retain 35mm capabilities to showcase archival movie prints and home a number of premium format screens with immersive audio and 4K laser projection, including 70mm capabilities.

For filmmakers, and movie buffs like myself, this could be very thrilling news. The reopen date of 2028 is ample time to see if the fast-dying movie industry can flip it around. The industry has grow to be overrun with horrible concepts, poor management, and even worse politics. Former L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt continues to be an outspoken power, and has created a new video breaking down the problems at hand with California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) and CA Attorney General Rob Bonta’s (D) efforts to squelch the deal between Paramount and Warner Bros. If Hair Gel and his consigliere succeed at this, and Paramount and Warner Bros. go away Los Angeles, you may kiss the movie industry, and any hope of revitalized movie manufacturing, goodbye.

The video is just under 11 minutes, with bits of salty language, but it’s well worth the view because Pratt cogently and hilariously explains what the people who work in Hollywood and drastically need it to be restored and reenergized are up against. 

Read More: Biden-Appointed Judge Pauses Paramount-Warner Bros. Megamerger

Downer Ending? Iconic Hollywood Studio Considering Ditching Tinseltown for Friendlier Waters

Sony, Alamo Drafthouse, and Benjamin Steinberg could have their fingers full. But one miracle has already been pulled off, so maybe there may be room for another.

WATCH:  

Greasy Gavin and Bonehead Bonta are the real life slick-haired archetypal douchebag villains we have seen in every film.

Now they’re coming to destroy the Hollywood for good, over petty politics.

The Paramount sabotage is…means worse than you assume. pic.twitter.com/vxop7tX8SO

— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) July 22, 2026

Below is Benjamin Steinberg’s full X story on the journey to see the Cinerama Dome revitalized.

I’m happy to share the news that Sony Pictures can be reopening and restoring the historic Cinerama Dome. I used to be briefed by them on their reopening plans and can’t reveal any particulars, but I used to be invited to be part of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation so I look ahead to… pic.twitter.com/FegtAyAbIc

— Save Your Cinema (@SaveYourCinema) July 22, 2026

I’m happy to share the news that Sony Pictures can be reopening and restoring the historic Cinerama Dome. I used to be briefed by them on their reopening plans and can’t reveal any particulars, but I used to be invited to be part of the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation so I look ahead to working with them to guarantee that the restoration honors and preserves the Dome and retains it precisely as it was in 1963. The Sony people have been extraordinarily beneficiant with me and form. Getting it to reopen has been a six 12 months odyssey for me. I’ve made many new associates along the way in which and I’m grateful for many people supporting me. I began the petition to save the Cinerama Dome within minutes of discovering out it was shutting down and it acquired over 30 thousand signatures. I used to be in a position to reveal the 2023 reopening plans and then break the unhappy news about it being formally cancelled. Many people told me to give up. Industry figures that I deeply admire told me it could be inconceivable to persuade the household possession to reoepen it or have it leased to another exhibitor contemplating their other deserted cinemas and lack of communication to me. I used to be called delusional. People made enjoyable of me. Instead, I held protests, spoke with metropolis leaders, supplied updates from public data, up to date the media, repeatedly pressed the house owners. I had conversations with filmmakers ranging from Wes Anderson to Quentin Tarantino about it. A few months in the past I projected the photographs of the house owners faces onto the Dome asking them to reopen and they called the police on me. That was really a miracle in disguise. I acquired consideration from all around the world and the Cinerama Dome grew to become a matter of dialog again. The common public wasn’t conscious that the Dome was deserted & uncared for for 6 years. At the time I had thought no one would care and it was widely accepted the Dome can be another demolition by neglect. That evening was the first kind of communication I’ve had with the house owners in six years. A few weeks later their property consultant responded to a remark about my incident saying “Ownership has taken notice to extreme public interest in reopening” and then  I gave possession a deadline of August twentieth to reopen or choose a new operator or large protests will resume at their HQ. Just a few months later I’m contacted by Sony about the reopening.  Now I’ve Save Your Cinema with over 20K followers on social media and hundreds of thousands of views each day.  With the help of my followers we now have saved a number of cinemas and are actively working on more reopening soon TBA! I’m so grateful for everybody supporting me. Here are just some of the people I’d like to thank! Sean Baker, Edgar Wright, Alma Har’el, Joshua Safran, Alison Martino, Gary Baum, Mark Olsen, Jazz Tangcay, Pat Saperstein, Tait Forman, Christopher Forman , vanfathernighy and every single follower and individual who signed my petition and favored my posts. We all made this occur TOGETHER as a group effort. Thank you to EVERYONE! The BEST movie show on Earth can be reopening 🥹🥹🥹🥹🥹

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