Cosm domes turn sports and classic films into shared reality

What the domes feel like and how they seat audiences

Each Cosm venue uses stadium-style tiers with booths and tables on every level, putting groups face to a display wide enough to occupy much of a viewer's side vision. The upshot is a setup that makes the on-screen environment feel like it surrounds you.

Capacity varies by market. The Los Angeles and Dallas sites offer around 350 seats each, while Atlanta and Detroit can reach up to 500. Cosm has not shared seating for Cleveland, though its bigger screen suggests a larger seat count.

For live sports, specialty cameras mounted in arenas capture and transmit the games to the dome, making it feel as though you're right down on the field. For theatrical releases, the movie runs as a big rectangle in the center while the surrounding image is transformed to continue the scene. During Cosm's Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, for example, the fireplace letter deluge shows animated envelopes swarming the background.

How the visuals are made and who helps

For each film, the added environments and visuals are crafted in partnership with Little Cinema and the creative studio MakeMake. From early storyboards through post-production, Cosm, the participating studio and visual effects artists work together to craft and render every beat, a process that can take up to a year.

"We really work hard not to take away from the story, so the film remains the hero in the narrative," Scalice said. "Working very closely with Warner Bros. and our creative partners to make sure that we're not detracting too much from the story, but we're enhancing those moments for more elevated emotional response."

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Programming, audience appeal, and pricing

Aside from 2017's It, the movie slate leans on older titles with long-standing fan bases. Scalice called it "that nostalgia factor" of parents who "grew up on this" and want to share it with their kids, adding, "We can reinvigorate these legendary films." Cosm mixes horror, fantasy and science fiction, spanning family-friendly to R-rated, and will present its first animated title with Shrek on Dec. 16.

"The thing that's so incredible about it is everybody thought initially it's just going to be working for sports, and when you look at what they've done, a lot of the titles with 'Harry Potter,' with 'Shrek,' and some of the other ones, I mean, the fill rates are actually incredible," Sony's Levine said.

Ticket prices shift by showtime and venue, and on average are "higher than I think anybody really would have thought," Levine said. For context, EntTelligence pegs standard tickets around 13 dollars and premium formats above 18. Unlike sports, which can also be watched from hall and deck viewing areas outside the dome at lower prices, film presentations run exclusively inside the dome. "They have no problem selling these tickets because people want to experience these things, like an immersive format," said Mike Polydoros, CEO of PaperAirplane Media. "That is something they can't get at home."

What this means for your portfolio

The strategy is premium and location-based: live sports captured with dedicated cameras, classic films reimagined with added environments, and limited seating that supports higher pricing. It also rides broader theater trends where premium large formats such as Imax, Dolby Cinema, ScreenX and 4DX attract Gen Z and millennials even as overall screens and attendance have declined.

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