The 86-foot silver screen at Echo Park’s Cinerama Dome will soon flicker back to life.
Sony Pictures Entertainment plans to restore and reopen the shuttered geodesic dome-shaped movie theater by 2028 after its subsidiary, theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, signed a long-term lease for the property and adjacent former ArcLight Cinemas complex at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd., the entertainment conglomerate announced.
Alamo Drafthouse, which Sony acquired in 2024, will operate the complex, according to the company’s plans. The exact terms of the theater chain’s lease are unclear.
A Hollywood gem
The deal ends a long period of uncertainty for the historic Cinerama Dome, which was built in 1963 but shuttered in 2020 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed theaters for about a year in Los Angeles. Six years later, Hollywood is finally luring fans back to the movies with unexpected summer hits like “Obsession” and “Backrooms.”
Now, Sony wants to restore and preserve a piece of movie history, something Chair and Chief Executive Ravi Ahuja said aligns with the company’s values.
“There is no moviegoing destination anywhere in the world that commands the affection, history and cultural significance of the Cinerama Dome,” Ahuja said in a statement.
Jones Lang LaSalle’s Ken Shishido arranged the deal for Alamo Drafthouse, while landlord Robertson Properties Group was represented by JLL’s Scott Burns and Shauna Mattis together with CBRE’s Nicole Mihalka and Carl Muhlstein of Muhlstein Commercial.
Mihalka said the agreement represents “an exciting new chapter” for the historic property and a vote of confidence for in-person moviegoing experiences.
