Sony is ready to bring one of Hollywood’s most beloved movie palaces back from the dead.
The entertainment giant and Alamo Drafthouse — the upscale theater chain Sony bought in 2024 — are reportedly in talks to reopen the long-shuttered Cinerama Dome and neighboring ArcLight Hollywood multiplex, according to Deadline.
The iconic venues have sat dark since the pandemic forced them to close in 2020. Pacific Theatres, which operated the theaters, later filed for bankruptcy, leaving the famed Dome abandoned despite years of pleas from movie lovers.
The properties are still owned by the family of Pacific Theatres founder William R. Forman, who built the futuristic Cinerama Dome in 1963. The theater has since been designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument.
According to Deadline, the Forman family has quietly met with studios and theater operators while searching for someone to revive the landmark. AMC and Amazon MGM reportedly passed on the opportunity.
The theater’s years-long closure became a lightning rod for frustrated Angelenos, sparking petitions and protests as the empty complex came to symbolize both Hollywood’s post-pandemic struggles and the city’s economic challenges.
The Cinerama Dome — inspired by the work of visionary architect R. Buckminster Fuller — has long been a favorite spot for splashy movie premieres. Its glowing exterior was even immortalized in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
The adjoining ArcLight Hollywood helped redefine the modern moviegoing experience with reserved seating, gourmet food and plush stadium-style recliners.
If the deal comes together, the famed theaters would join a growing revival of Los Angeles movie houses.
In recent years, the city has welcomed the David Geffen Theater at the Academy Museum, Quentin Tarantino’s restored Vista Theatre, the revived Eagle Theatre by nonprofit Vidiots, Netflix’s renovation of the Egyptian Theatre and upgrades to the Alex Theatre to accommodate major first-run releases, including The Odyssey.
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