Key Takeaways:
- Sony Pictures invested $100 million in immersive venue operator Cosm.
- SPE CEO Ravi Ahuja will join Cosm's board of directors.
- Cosm operates three dome venues with plans for five by early 2026.
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Sony Pictures invests $100 million in Cosm, takes minority stake
Sony Pictures Entertainment invested $100 million in Cosm, taking a minority stake in the immersive dome-venue operator as the studio pushes beyond traditional theaters into experiential entertainment.
"Cosm sits at the intersection of several trends shaping the future of entertainment," Ravi Ahuja, chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said in a statement. Ahuja will join Cosm's board as part of the deal.
Cosm operates three venues — in Inglewood, California near SoFi Stadium; North Dallas at Grandscape; and downtown Atlanta at Centennial Yards — each featuring an 87-foot, 12K LED dome display. The company plans to open a fourth location in Detroit this September and a fifth in Cleveland early next year, with additional domestic and international sites to be announced.
The investment gives Sony a distribution channel for its film franchises — including Spider-Man, Rocky and its anime library — in a format designed to simulate live-event attendance. The deal follows Sony's 2024 acquisition of Alamo Drafthouse and represents the studio's second major bet on theatrical experiences as streaming growth slows.
Cosm, founded in 2020 by Steve Winn, has built its business around large-scale dome theaters that blend virtual reality with physical space. The venues have shown films including "The Matrix," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," while also hosting live sports through partnerships with the NFL, NBA, WWE, NBC Sports, ESPN and CBS Sports.
Sony plans to experiment with screening its own content in the Cosm format, according to a person familiar with the matter, and may announce specific projects before the end of the year. The studio's library spans film, television, music and gaming, giving Cosm access to intellectual property across multiple entertainment verticals.
The closest comparable to Cosm is Sphere Entertainment Co.'s venue in Las Vegas, a $2.3 billion immersive entertainment complex that opened in 2023. But Cosm operates on a different scale and business model — its domes are smaller, cheaper to build and designed for rapid expansion rather than single-location spectacle. Sphere's market capitalization stands at roughly $1.8 billion, providing a valuation benchmark for the immersive venue sector.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and Allen & Company LLC served as Cosm's financial advisors on the financing round. Cosm President and CEO Jeb Terry said the capital will fund venue network expansion and technology initiatives across sports and entertainment.
The deal reflects a broader industry shift toward experiential entertainment as traditional box office faces headwinds from streaming. U.S. box office revenue totaled $8.7 billion in 2025, down from a pre-pandemic peak of $11.4 billion in 2019, according to Comscore data. Studios are increasingly seeking alternative distribution channels that offer premium pricing and differentiated experiences.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
