It’s been a year since the Cosm immersive theater opened in Inglewood, offering a blend of live sports action and arts programming, for people who want to feel like they’re actually there.
Recently, the venue showed the Dodger games that led to a World Series win, with an immersive format inside an 87-foot-diameter dome that allowed fans to feel like they were actually attending the games.
Now, this unique space is moving into classic movies, expanded and blown up into 360-degree splendor. The newest offering is the original “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” with the late Gene Wilder, which opens Wednesday, Nov. 19.
Cosm is not the first immersive theater to exhibit classic movies — the Sphere in Las Vegas is currently showing the original 1939 “Wizard of Oz” remade to play on its giant 360-degree dome. That show has been popular with fans, even at $104 or more per seat. But Sphere creators drew the ire of some viewers by cutting scenes from the classic movie, including the “If I Were the King of the Forest” song by the Cowardly Lion.
Cosm executives promise that no scenes have been cut from “Willy Wonka,” and say the 1971 movie will be displayed in its original format, just expanded with material to fill the giant space around it.
“We don’t change the film at all, because the film is the hero to us,” said Alexis Scalice, Cosm’s vice president of business development and entertainment. “You actually feel like you’re walking into the chocolate factory. You feel like you’re in an immersive virtual reality world, but without the headset.”
The dome-shaped Cosm building is in an entertainment park near Hollywood Park in Inglewood, and there’s also a location in Dallas. Two more are currently under construction in Detroit and Atlanta.
Originally, the venue concentrated on showing live sporting events. A state-of-the-art camera system in the stadium or arena allows fans to feel they’re actually present at the game, while sitting in air conditioning in comfortable chairs, with waiters available to provide food and drinks from the Cosm kitchen and bars.
The company’s CEO, Jeb Terry, is a former NFL player with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and San Francisco 49ers
“Our foundation was in sports, for the NBA and NFL fans,” Scalice said. “We own our own camera system for live capture for sports all around the world. We do everything we can to make you feel like you’re at the game.”
The experience isn’t cheap. Tickets to watch the 2025 World Series games at the 350-seat venue cost $650 to $750, Scalice said. “They sold out really fast.” Most tickets are considerably less expensive, but still pricey. Fans who are willing to forgo fancy seating and watch from the hallway sports bar atmosphere can pay as little as $11, although the view is limited.
In addition to sports, Cosm also filmed and periodically shows an immersive version of the Cirque du Soleil show “O,” which has been playing in Las Vegas for 25 years. The company has a history of producing shows for planetariums, special theaters and other large-scale venues.
Cosm’s first dip into the classic movie pool was to remake “The Matrix” in collaboration with Warner Bros. According to Scalice, avid Matrix fans flew in to see the revamped production, dubbed “The Matrix In Shared Reality” which opened in June 2025. She said it typically takes about 12 to 14 months to convert an existing film into an immersive Cosm production.
Michael Daut, a board member of IMERSA, (Immersive Media Entertainment, Research, Science & Arts organization,) said such productions are able to draw people out of their houses and away from their flat-screen televisions, creating community and a shared experience that traditional movie theaters are now often lacking. Daut’s company produces the “Beautifica” immersive show that’s currently running at the Orange Coast College Planetarium in Costa Mesa.
“It’s a wake-up call for Hollywood to see these on an immersive canvas, in a way that flat screens don’t work anymore,” Daut said. “We’ve lost so many shopping malls with things to do before you turn 21 and there are so few places to gather to be with other people, these spaces can build community.”
‘Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory’ at Cosm
Where: 1252 District Drive, Inglewood
When: Open 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily
Tickets: Prices vary but run around $43 for adults.
Information: cosm.com/los-angeles