The Wizard of Oz a massive success at The Sphere — are Harry Potter and Star Wars next?

Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re going to be in Las Vegas for a very long time… The Wizard of Oz is widely considered to be the most viewed movies ever. Whether in the theater or on Christmas night airings or via home video, it’s almost a guarantee everybody you know has seen it. Now, The Sphere is hosting screenings of The Wizard of Oz complete with industrial fans and foam apples being dropped on your head — just the sort of thing they’re hoping to capitalize on.

According to firm Wolfe Research (via THR), The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere in Las Vegas is expected to pull in $500 million next year. As per one analyst (via The Hollywood Reporter), “We expect Wizard of Oz’s success will propel gross profit to over $500M in ’26, resulting in Sphere segment AOI approaching $200M, and making the underlying profits of the venue evidently clear and therefore SPHR more investable, Wizard of Oz’s success also bolsters the odds of future franchise deals, all while giving confidence that Sphere can re-create other valuable IP (for less than the ~$100M spent on Wizard of Oz) and generate highly appealing returns.”

With projections like that, those behind The Sphere, chiefly Sphere Entertainment founder James Dolan, can easily find opportunities to explore — or exploit — other intellectual properties. As per Bloomberg, Dolan has already had chats with Warner Bros. regarding the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises, although the scope of any such endeavors hasn’t been revealed.

While I haven’t seen The Sphere’s version of The Wizard of Oz, let’s consider some facts here. For starters, this is simply not how the film was meant to be seen, and that has nothing to do with certain technology being available at the time (please, show me the production note that says, “At this point, turn on an enormous fan a PA picked up at Home Depot” and I’ll gladly rescind that one.) This cut is also an hour and 15 minutes, nearly a half hour shorter than the version we all know and love. Oh, and let’s not get started on the grotesque AI, some of which creates atmospheres that those behind the curtain of Wizard of Oz ’25 insist had to be witnessed (oh, great, we get to see Uncle Henry walk across the entire room!).

But none of that may matter, because based on the figures and estimates, The Wizard of Oz at The Sphere has been one of the pop culture events of the century so far. And so if the yellow brick road is now painted in green, what does that mean for the future?

The post The Wizard of Oz a massive success at The Sphere — are Harry Potter and Star Wars next? appeared first on JoBlo.