Overview

• The premiere launches a shortened presentation that is now running multiple times daily at the Sphere, with the schedule set through March 2026.
• Sphere and partners used generative AI and traditional VFX fine-tuned on archival materials to expand the 1939 footage to the 160,000-square-foot screen, paired with a newly recorded orchestral score for 167,000 speakers.
• The venue adds 4D elements including high-powered wind, haptic seats, fog and scent effects, falling apples, snow, flame bursts and drone-operated flying monkeys.
• Sphere chief James Dolan said the production cost approached $100 million and involved more than 1,000–2,000 contributors over two years in collaboration with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google/DeepMind and Magnopus.
• Dolan disclosed that he and Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav were digitally inserted for two-second background cameos, as reviews praised the immersive spectacle but criticized AI-altered visuals and the truncated runtime.