Six years after shuttering at the onset of the pandemic, the Cinerama Dome is set to finally reopen under the stewardship of Sony Pictures Entertainment and its subsidiary Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. 

Announced yesterday, the plan calls for renovations of the landmark property to commence next month and continue through 2028. That means the theater's "Cinerama" signage will remain in place, as will other hallmarks such as its curved screens and concessions. Additionally, the adjoining 14-screen theater complex, formerly an ArcLight will reopen as an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, and offer the chain's signature events and programming.

"There is no moviegoing destination anywhere in the world that commands the affection, history, and cultural significance of the Cinerama Dome," said Sony Pictures Entertainment chairman and chief executive Ravi Ahuja in a news release. "It represents the kind of singular experience we value and champion. This is a meaningful moment for our company, our industry, and Los Angeles. We look forward to honoring and extending the Dome’s extraordinary legacy."  

The Cinerma Dome during the premiere of Close Encounters of the Third Kind on November 18, 1977Sony Pictures Entertainment

Built in 1963 at 6360 Sunset Boulevard, the Cinerama Dome is said to be the only concrete geodesic dome on Earth. Deadline reports that the building is comprised of 316 individual hexagonal and pentagonal shapes in 16 different sizes, each of which is roughly 12 feet across and weighs around 7,500 pounds.

While some feared that the Cinerama Dome could have remained permanently closed, a glimmer of hope emerged earlier this year when property ownership obtained approvals for the sale of alcoholic beverages within the complex.

A blueprint for the Cinerama Dome's renovation can be found elsewhere in California. Alamo Drafthouse similarly restored San Francisco's New Mission Theater in 2015, which had been vacant for 20 years.

Currently, Alamo Drafthouse has one location in the Los Angeles area - an outpost within The Bloc complex in Downtown Los Angeles that opened in 2019.

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