Hollywood’s most famous golf ball might finally light up again.
Sony Pictures is reportedly in talks to lease and reopen the long-shuttered Cinerama Dome and the adjoining ArcLight Hollywood multiplex on Sunset Boulevard, potentially restoring one of Los Angeles’ marquee movie palaces to regular screenings. The report surfaced Tuesday, and while negotiations are said to be active, no firm reopening date has been floated yet.
The studio is negotiating with Robertson Property Group to revive the complex at 6360 Sunset Blvd., and industry outlets report that Sony-owned Alamo Drafthouse could be tapped to help operate the venue. The story, which traces back to Deadline, was picked up by MyNewsLA, which notes that lease terms and a reopening timetable are still being hammered out.
The Cinerama Dome, built in 1963 and known for its concrete geodesic shell, has been dark since ArcLight and Pacific Theatres shut down during the pandemic. Pacific Theatres later moved to liquidate its operations in 2021, leaving the Hollywood complex vacant, as detailed in bankruptcy records reviewed by Bloomberg Law. For local film buffs who watched the closure unfold in real time, any hint of a new operator tends to land as an emotional plot twist.
Sony has been slowly expanding into the exhibition business since its 2024 purchase of Alamo Drafthouse, a move the studio framed as a push into location-based entertainment. The Alamo acquisition gives Sony a ready-made partner experienced in curated programming and dine-in service, a playbook that industry watchers say could be adapted for a Cinerama Dome revival, according to Sony Pictures.
Regulatory steps and filings
On the ground, city paperwork suggests the property owner has been positioning the site for a comeback. Dome Center LLC applied for a conditional use permit to allow on-site alcohol sales at the Dome and the adjacent auditoriums, a key step logged in the city’s case file. The application and hearing materials appear under case ZA-2025-6032-CUB in the municipal planning portal, per Los Angeles City Planning.
What reopening could mean for Hollywood
If Sony ultimately signs the lease and brings movies back to Sunset, the Dome would instantly snap back into its role as a prestige venue for splashy premieres and awards-season runs. The broader market has already shown how former ArcLight locations can be repurposed. National chains have scooped up several high profile addresses, with AMC taking over former Pacific Theatres sites at major shopping centers, as covered by TheWrap, and Regal announcing plans to reopen a former ArcLight at The Paseo in Pasadena in a statement from Regal.
For now, talks around the Dome remain preliminary, and Sony has not publicly confirmed any deal. As MyNewsLA notes, the studio did not immediately respond to requests for comment. If a lease is finalized, though, the Dome’s return would be one of the clearest signs yet that Hollywood’s theatrical heartbeat on Sunset is starting to pound a little louder again.
