Sony Reveals Plans For Cinerama Dome Renovation; Former ArcLight To Become Flagship Alamo Drafthouse

HOLLYWOOD, CA — After six years of darkness, Hollywood’s landmark Cinerama Dome and the neighboring former ArcLight Cinemas complex are officially coming back.

Sony Pictures Entertainment announced Wednesday that it plans to restore the Cinerama Dome and reopen the adjacent 14-screen multiplex as an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema.

Renovations are scheduled to begin in August and continue through early 2028. Sony did not announce a specific reopening date.

The Dome, a Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument, will be operated by Alamo Drafthouse but will not become a dine-in theater. Its traditional concession experience, deeply curved screen and large-format presentation will be preserved, Sony said.

The “Cinerama” name and the building’s exterior branding will also remain intact.

“There is no moviegoing destination anywhere in the world that commands the affection, history and cultural significance of the Cinerama Dome,” Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Ravi Ahuja said in a statement.

The Dome will offer traditional film programming along with Alamo Drafthouse repertory screenings, filmmaker series, premieres and special events.

The neighboring theater complex, formerly operated as ArcLight Cinemas, will reopen as Alamo Drafthouse’s West Coast flagship. It will offer dine-in service, premium-format screenings, repertory films, events, karaoke rooms and fan celebrations.

Sony said the complex will retain the ability to screen 35mm film prints and will include auditoriums equipped for 70mm presentation, immersive audio and 4K laser projection.

“Hot damn! We’re bringing the Dome back, baby,” Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Chairman and CEO Tom Rothman said. “We believe in moviegoing down to our soul, and no venue on earth stands more for that than the one-of-a-kind Dome.”

The Cinerama Dome opened in 1963 and became known for its approximately 86-foot-wide curved screen and 70mm presentations. It has hosted major premieres and appeared in Quentin Tarantino’s 2019 film “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.”

Before its closure, the Hollywood theater complex was regularly among the country’s highest-grossing multiplexes and served as an important launch venue for independent films and awards-season contenders, Deadline previously reported.

The property had been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020. ArcLight Cinemas and Pacific Theatres later announced that their locations would not reopen after their parent company suffered financial difficulties.

Sony acquired Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in 2024. The company said the Cinerama project expands its investment in theatrical exhibition and entertainment experiences.