Sphere Studios is giving the 1975 cult classic "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" the immersive treatment, with a new Sphere Experience expected to open in Las Vegas next year.
Las Vegas: Rocky Horror Heads To Sphere In 2027
Sphere Studios is producing “The Rocky Horror Picture Show at Sphere”, a new immersive version of the 1975 cult film, in a special arrangement with Primary Wave Music and 20th Century Studios.
The production is expected to open in 2027 and will use Sphere Studios’ technologies to enhance the original film for the Las Vegas venue’s wraparound LED canvas and sensory environment. Sphere says the show will join its original Sphere Experiences slate, which includes “Postcard from Earth” and “The Wizard of Oz at Sphere“.
A wild experience?
The choice of Rocky Horror is notable because few films have involved audiences as directly. Since its midnight movie rise in the 1970s, fans have dressed as characters, shouted callbacks, danced the Time Warp, and, depending on the theater’s rules, thrown props such as rice, toast, and hot dogs at specific moments in the film.
Whether Sphere allows any of that chaos inside a high-tech Las Vegas venue remains to be seen (then again, this is Las Vegas), but the show’s built-in culture of audience participation gives the format an interesting new twist that fans can look forward to.
A proven format
“Since “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” premiered in 1975, it redefined audience participation and became a cultural phenomenon,” said Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Sphere Entertainment. “With Sphere, we have the opportunity to take that spirit of immersion to an entirely new level.”
The venue has increasingly positioned its Sphere Experiences as a distinct content format alongside concerts and residencies, using familiar entertainment properties to draw broader audiences into immersive presentations.
