The Wizard of Oz Gets a Crazy Makeover at Sphere

There’s no place like home — but there might be no place like Sphere, either.

Sphere Entertainment

Last night, celebrities, industry insiders, and fans followed the yellow carpet in New York City for the world premiere of The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, a groundbreaking reimagining of the 1939 classic that transforms the film into a full-blown sensory experience. Guests including Rosanna Arquette, Joe Manganiello, Edie Falco, Holly Madison, and Queen legend Brian May were among the stars who traded in ruby slippers for cocktail attire to celebrate the occasion.

Inside the venue, Dorothy’s journey to Oz unfolds like never before. Sphere’s 160,000-square-foot LED display : the largest and highest resolution screen on Earth, wraps around the audience, pulling them straight into the sepia-toned Kansas plains, tornadoes, and ultimately, Emerald City. The film’s original mono score has been re-recorded with over 80 musicians to fully harness Sphere Immersive Sound, and yes, the effect is spine-tingling. Dialogue and vocals remain faithful to Judy Garland and the original cast, but the orchestration now swirls, crescendos, and even seems to move around you.

Sphere Entertainment

Then there are the 4D touches: snow in the poppy field, flame effects in the Witch’s lair, butterflies fluttering overhead, and yes, apples raining down on the audience courtesy of hidden ceiling hatches. Add in Sphere’s 10,000 haptic seats, vibrating and pulsing with infrasound tones,

and you’re no longer watching Dorothy on her adventure. You’re on it with her.

Sphere Entertainment

Before and after the screening, guests wandered through the Atrium, which was transformed twice over: sepia Kansas on arrival, complete with Professor Marvel’s caravan, and Emerald City on exit, complete with a holographic, motion-captured Wizard greeting guests in real time. Interactive photo kiosks let attendees drop themselves into Munchkinland or the Gale Farm, ensuring Instagram feeds got their own taste of Oz.

The project has been two years in the making, with more than 2,000 artists, engineers, and technicians collaborating across Warner Bros. Discovery, Google, Magnopus, and Sphere Studios to balance nostalgia with cutting-edge tech. And while the heart of the film remains untouched — Dorothy still sings “Over the Rainbow,” Toto still steals scenes — the experience itself feels unlike anything else in cinema today.

With The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, the yellow brick road doesn’t just stretch across the screen — it pulls you right onto it.