Wizard of Oz at Sphere Marks First Anniversary in Las Vegas
Sphere's "Wizard of Oz" hits 3.6M guests and $450M in sales at year one. Anniversary activations run Aug 10-Sept 30 in Las Vegas.
Published · 4 min read
"The Wizard of Oz at Sphere" just hit its one-year mark, and Sphere Entertainment backed up the celebration with real numbers: 3.6 million guests, $450 million in ticket sales, and over 850 screenings since the August 2025 debut. Starting August 10 through September 30, guests get exclusive in-venue anniversary activations tied to the milestone.
Quick Facts
- What: First anniversary celebration for “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere,” including exclusive in-venue activations
- When: Activations run August 10 through September 30, 2026; the anniversary itself is August 28
- Where: Sphere, on the Strip near The Venetian
- Tickets: On sale now at thesphere.com
- Worth knowing: The experience has run more than 850 times since opening and draws visitors from all 50 states and over 140 countries
Every apple that drops, every leaf that blows across the audience, every one of those winged monkeys swooping over your head — Sphere Entertainment tallied it all for the anniversary. More than 675,000 apples dropped over the past year. More than 8,000 butterfly flights. Over 6,500 pounds of leaves blown through the room. More than 3,200 winged monkey flights. I’m not going to pretend I know how you count a winged monkey flight, but somebody at Sphere clearly does, and the fact that they bothered tells you this production runs on more moving parts than most people realize when they buy a ticket expecting “just a big screen.”
Sphere’s version of “Wizard of Oz” is a full-body event, built around Sphere’s 160,000-square-foot LED interior, a sound system with 167,000 individual speakers, haptic seats that vibrate with the tornado and the storm, and 4D effects timed to specific scenes. The apples, the leaves, the monkeys — those are all physical or simulated effects synced to the 1939 film, which Sphere Studios reworked with Warner Bros. Discovery, Google and Magnopus for the format. That collaboration is what turned a 1939 movie into a rebuild fitted to a room that didn’t exist when the film was made.
Anniversary Activations: August 10 to September 30
Starting August 10 and running through September 30, guests attending the show get access to what Sphere is calling exclusive anniversary activations inside the venue. Sphere hasn’t detailed every element of these publicly beyond calling them in-venue, so if you’re planning a trip around the milestone, buy your ticket through thesphere.com and expect the specifics to show up closer to your visit date. The window is generous — six weeks — so there’s no need to fight for the exact August 28 date unless you specifically want to be in the building on the calendar anniversary itself.
Jen Koester, President and Chief Operating Officer of Sphere, framed the milestone as both a thank-you to the millions who’ve already gone and a nudge to everyone who hasn’t. That’s a fair read of the numbers, since this is a show that's been running for a full year in one building and is still pulling international visitors — not the usual life cycle for a Vegas attraction. Most shows on the Strip settle into a slower, local-heavy rhythm by month twelve. This one is still bringing in guests from more than 140 countries.
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One Year In: 850 Shows, $450 Million
Sphere opened in September 2023 with the U2 residency, and “Wizard of Oz” was the venue’s bet that its technology could carry something beyond a concert format — a scripted, narrative, effects-driven experience that runs on a schedule rather than an artist’s tour dates. A year in, with 850-plus screenings and $450 million in ticket revenue, that bet looks settled. For a city used to shows opening big and quietly losing steam, this is one of the rare cases where the anniversary announcement is backed by attendance numbers instead of just marketing copy.
It also matters for how you plan a Strip visit. A Cirque show or a residency is no guarantee it’ll still be running next year, but “Wizard of Oz” at Sphere is looking like one of the safer long-term bets on the Strip, unlike the rotating concert bookings or shorter runs such as “MJ Live.” This one is built to run indefinitely, and the anniversary numbers back that up.
Know what you’re buying before you go: this is not a passive movie night. The haptic seats and the leaf effects mean you’re going to feel weather during the show, and the sound design at 167,000 speakers is loud in a way regular theaters aren’t built for. Bring small kids expecting a gentle, nostalgic rewatch of the classic film, and the tornado sequence and 4D effects will hit a lot harder than anything from the living room. That’s the appeal for most people who buy tickets, but good to know going in.
Parking at Sphere runs through The Venetian’s garage structure, and the venue sits close enough to the Strip that walking from nearby resorts is realistic if you don't mind the August heat before showtime. Buy tickets ahead through the official Sphere site rather than at the door — a show pulling this kind of attendance sells out prime evening slots, especially now that the anniversary window is drawing extra attention.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the anniversary for “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere”?
The show opened August 28, 2025, so the one-year anniversary lands on August 28, 2026. Sphere is running anniversary activations for a broader window, from August 10 through September 30, 2026.
How many people have seen “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” since it opened?
More than 3.6 million guests have attended since the August 2025 opening, with visitors coming from all 50 states and more than 140 countries, according to Sphere Entertainment.
How much has “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere” made in ticket sales?
Sphere Entertainment reported more than $450 million in ticket sales for the experience during its first year.
Where do I buy tickets for “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere”?
Tickets are on sale directly through thesphere.com. Sphere is located near The Venetian on the Strip.
What are the anniversary activations at Sphere?
Sphere has described exclusive in-venue activations running August 10 through September 30, 2026, tied to the show’s first anniversary, though full details of each activation haven’t been broken out publicly beyond the announcement.
Related: Wizard of Oz at Sphere Adds 4D Effects, Tops 4 Million Tickets
