The highly anticipated Sphere in Las Vegas opened on Friday with a U2 concert and a star-studded attendee list, but it's a daily movie that will be more important for the theater and the city.
The ball-shaped building, estimated to cost $2.3 billion, is believed to be the largest spherical structure in the world at 366 feet tall and 516 feet wide. It could fit the State of the Liberty inside it. But how big will the ball be when it comes to its success and the impact on Las Vegas tourism?
According to Charles Bobrinskoy, the vice chair of Ariel Investments — whose founder, John Rogers, is one of the top shareholders in the Sphere's parent company — selling out U2 concerts and attracting big stars are nice but limiting over the long haul.
"Longer term, it's actually more important that the company-owned content, this 'Postcard From Earth,' which is a film that the Sphere produced to take advantage of all the multimedia experience you get at the Sphere — there is a lot riding on that," Bobrinskoy said on CNBC's "The Exchange." "If they can sell tickets for $100 during the day in Las Vegas, it could be a big success. If you just have to rely on concerts, it won't be quite as successful."
"Postcards From Earth" is one component of The Sphere Experience, which includes a robot-hosted tour of the facility. The film, by the director Darren Aronofsky, is a 50-minute movie that was filmed just for the Sphere using a 216-megapixel camera.
The film's description says it will "take you on a journey to all seven continents: deep into the ocean, high into the mountains, into the eye of a storm, and out into space." It adds: "And everywhere you go, you'll feel like you're really there."
But will tourists, especially families, be willing to pay top dollar for the experience? Tickets for The Sphere Experience start at $90 each and go up to $250 for the best seats. However, the lower-end seats are set to drop to $50 in a few weeks.
Bloomberg analysts said that this summer's entertainment boost to the US economy would not last with the end of the Taylor Swift and Beyoncé tours and "Barbenheimer."
"A large chunk of that strength comes from temporary factors," the analysts wrote. "These factors create a mirage of resilient consumption, when in fact it's running out of steam."
And we are already seeing changes in consumer spending heading into the fall and winter months.
People are spending less on nonessentials and big-ticket items at places such as Costco. Even dollar stores are starting to feel the pressure of more-measured spending after initially benefiting from inflation as wealthier people looked for more value.
For The Sphere Experience, there are three shows on most Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays, with four on Sundays. Most U2 shows take place on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.
What's more, The Sphere Experience is the only project announced by the Sphere's organizers outside the U2 concerts.
While the entertainment industry helped prop up the economy over the summer with events such as Swift's Eras Tour, it will be interesting to see whether the Sphere can attract audiences beyond U2's as consumers start to tighten their grip on their wallets.
