Cosm expands immersive screenings as premium moviegoing demand grows

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Cosm immersive cinema expansion

Highlights

Cosm has opened four new immersive screening venues since 2024, with a Cleveland location scheduled for 2027, expanding its presence beyond sports presentations.
Cosm signed content deals with Warner Bros. and Universal to bring major titles such as 'The Matrix' and 'Shrek' to its 87-foot domed screens, marking its entry into animated features.
Premium immersive movie tickets at Cosm range from $18 to $70 and frequently sell out, capitalizing on industry trends favoring premium formats amid declining traditional cinema attendance.

Film library expansion and venue rollout

As reported by CNBC, Cosm is building on the popularity of its arena-style sports presentations by expanding into studio-backed movie screenings and increasing its theater footprint. Since 2024, the company has opened four venues near Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta and Detroit, and it says a Cleveland hub is set to open in 2027.

Cosm has recently partnered with studios including Warner Bros., now part of Skydance, to bring films such as "The Matrix," "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" and "It" to its domed screens. It has also signed a deal with Universal that will bring "Shrek" to its venues in December, marking its first move into animation.

The company, which began by programming planetariums, uses 87-foot-diameter concave screens designed to place viewers in the middle of the action. Unlike its sports events, where lower-priced viewing is also available from hall and deck areas outside the dome, movie presentations are only shown inside the dome itself.

Premium ticket demand and industry relevance

Cosm is seeking to benefit from the industry's shift toward higher-priced premium formats at a time when cinemas are dealing with fewer screens and fewer moviegoers in the post-pandemic market. Those attendance pressures are being partly offset by stronger ticket pricing, especially for premium large format experiences that offer something audiences cannot easily replicate at home.

Tickets for Cosm screenings range from $18 for a matinee to around $70 for prime seats or in-demand showings, and the company says its events often sell out. Mike Polydoros, CEO of cinema marketing firm PaperAirplane Media, says the immersive format is helping support demand because consumers are paying for an experience rather than simply a screening.

Cosm's investor base includes chairman Steve Winn's Mirasol Capital, Marc Lasry's Avenue Sports Fund, Dan Gilbert's Rock and David Blitzer's Bolt Ventures. Sony has also backed the company, with Jay Levine, Sony's chief strategy and business operations officer, telling CNBC that Cosm is still early in its growth trajectory and offers exposure to what Sony views as a growing experiential distribution platform with long-term potential.

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