The Cinerama Dome Lives! Iconic Hollywood Theater to Reopen Alongside New 14-Screen Alamo Drafthouse Cinema
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- Sony Pictures Entertainment announced plans to reopen and restore the Cinerama Dome, which has been closed since 2020 after operator Pacific Theatres filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2021
- Sony will also reopen the adjacent 14-screen complex — formerly ArcLight Cinemas — as an Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, following its 2024 acquisition of the chain
- The Cinerama Dome opened in 1963 with an 86-foot-wide panoramic screen and will retain the 'Cinerama' name, exterior branding, and traditional programming including repertory screenings and premieres — but unlike the surrounding complex, will not operate as a dine-in theater
- The complex will retain 35mm projection capabilities and house multiple premium-format screens including 70mm auditoriums for archival film prints
- Renovations on the Dome begin next month and are expected to extend through 2028, per Sony
- Alamo Drafthouse, founded in 1997 and itself a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filer in 2021, currently runs a 10-screen location in downtown LA and 39 others nationwide; CEO Michael Kustermann called the new venue the chain's 'West Coast flagship'
Why it matters: Sony is making a direct bet on theatrical exhibition at a time when most studios have pulled back, plowing capital into a single landmark venue and a dine-in flagship simultaneously — a 2028 reopening timeline means the Dome sits dark for roughly three more years even as LA's remaining arthouse ecosystem shrinks.
