Cosm and Disney bring 'Star Wars: A New Hope' to 4 domes
The film will play in its original format, surrounded by extra visuals, under a multiyear partnership between Cosm and Disney.
Cosm and Disney announced a multiyear, multifilm partnership Thursday that will bring "Star Wars: A New Hope" to Cosm’s immersive domes starting in March 2027.
Disney joins Warner Bros. Pictures and Universal as the third major studio to partner with Cosm. The 1977 original will be the sixth film shown at the venues, arriving ahead of its 50th anniversary.
"Since we’ve launched experiential cinema at Cosm, people have been asking for this film for the last year and a half," Alexis Scalice, vice president and head of Cosm Studios, told Variety.
The movie will play in its original format in the middle of the dome’s LED screen, surrounded by additional visuals. Those images will take audiences to Tatooine, Yavin IV and the Death Star and create the sensation of flying at lightspeed alongside the Millennium Falcon.
Viewers will also appear to be trapped in the film’s trash compactor.
Cosm worked with Disney, Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic and creative studio MakeMake on the presentation, which draws on a 2019 update of the film.
Scalice told Variety that her team selects "greatest hits" moments, including the trash compactor and jump to lightspeed, based on fan priorities in a process she calls "decoding the fan." "The film remains the hero, and how can we expand?" she said.
Cosm’s domes use wrap-around 12K screens. Scalice told CNBC that moments such as "listening to Darth Vader’s breath for the first time ... you feel those moments differently in an 87-foot diameter dome and 12k resolution with the sound system we have."
The domes have stadium-style seats, with booths and tables at each level, and Cosm will offer a themed menu for the Star Wars screenings. Its menu for "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" included shepherd’s pie, pretzel wands with cheese dip and boxes of Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans.
That screening came through Cosm’s Warner Bros. partnership, which also brought "The Matrix," "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" and "It" to the domes.
Disney’s Star Wars anniversary plans include merchandise launches, theatrical re-releases, its Star Wars Celebration convention and collaborations with other brands. The film will also have an anniversary run in various Imax formats.
Privately held Cosm was founded in 2020 and opened its Los Angeles flagship three years later. Alongside movies, it broadcasts live events through proprietary cameras mounted in arenas, with support from partnerships with the NFL, the NBA and other leagues.
Deadline reported that Cosm, like Imax and Sphere, has found strong demand from audiences willing to pay a premium for high-end entertainment. Cosm announced $250 million in funding the year after opening its flagship and received a $100 million investment from Sony Pictures Entertainment last June.
"A New Hope" will screen at all four Cosm domes, including Inglewood, California, near SoFi Stadium, plus Atlanta, Dallas and Detroit. Tickets go on sale in 2027.
CNBC reported that the deal’s financial terms were not disclosed.
Cosm will first screen Universal’s "Shrek," beginning Dec. 15.
