Los Angeles Theatres: Dolby Theatre

Dolby Theatre

6801 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90028 | map |

The news: The theatre has been sold to JEBS Hollywood Entertainment, a company run by Elie Samaha and his partners. See "Dolby Theatre, Home of the Oscars, Sells to Elie Samaha's Company," Pat Saperstein's October 15 story for Variety. Samaha and his partners also own Grauman's Chinese and the Yamashiro Restaurant.

Also involved in JEBS are Sherwin Jarol, former Sony Pictures president Jeff Sagansky, Jonah Lazowski, Two Girls Holdings and Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi and his Master Investment Group. The deal, which also includes two parking lots, was reportedly in the $50 million range.

The Dolby Theatre, built at a cost of over $90 million at the Hollywood and Highland Center, is best known as the home of the Oscar telecast. The theatre also hosts concerts and occasional legit shows. This 2013 view of the theatre's entrance appears courtesy of Dolby Labs. In 2021 the mall got a renovation and a new name: Ovation.

Phone: 323-308-6300 The theatre's website: dolbytheatre.com | theatre tours |

Opened: November 9, 2001 as the Kodak Theatre. The L.A. Times gave the new theatre and mall an unfavorable review in "Grand Illusion," an article by Nicolai Ouroussoff in their November 9, 2001 issue. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the article and providing a PDF of it via the page about the theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site. The page also has several other articles about the opening.

Seating: 3,400 total with 1,460 on the main floor, 638 in the 1st balcony, 529 in the 2nd balcony, 773 in the 3rd. The front of the main floor is designated as the orchestra section, the rear is the parterre. The theatre likes to call the three upper levels mezzanine 1, 2 and 3.

Architect: David Rockwell of the Rockwell Group

Stage specifications:

Proscenium: 83' wide x 35' high.

An inner proscenium can be used with a width variable between 43' and 64'.

Stage depth: 60'

Wall to wall: 113'

Grid height: 89' 6"

Rear bustle: 78' wide, 15' deep, 35' high

SR sidestage area: 27' wide, 60' deep, 35' high

Forestage rigging: Full width grid, 16' of depth downstage of the proscenium

Flyfloors: both SL and SR

Counterweight system: Operates at stage level SL or from SL flyfloor.

Linesets: 76 sets with 7 lift lines and 86' long battens + motorized sets for 4 torms

Arbor capacity: 2,150 pounds

Dimmers: 720 2.4Kw, 48 6.0Kw

Followspots: 4 Lycian 2Kw

Projection/control booth: rear of 1st balcony, throw approximately 110'

A section of the theatre. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating these drawings as well as the tech data. See the page about the Dolby Theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site for more details and many fine photos. The trap room has been substantially deepened since the drawing was made.

A main floor plan, c.2006.

History: The theatre, like the Hollywood and Highland mall around it, wasn't a great success in its early years. The original developer was Trizec-Hahn, a company that ended up selling the mall complex to the CIM group at a substantial loss. The theatre itself was largely built with City Community Redevelopment Agency money and CIM ended up with a 99 year lease as part of their acquisition of Trizec-Hahn's interest in the complex.

Kodak, due to their 2012 bankruptcy filing, successfully petitioned the court on February 15, 2012 to void its 20 year $75 million "naming rights deal" that had called the venue the Kodak Theatre. It was a deal that began in 2000.

It became the Dolby Theatre later in 2012. Their 20-year naming rights deal runs through 2032. It's had lots of tech upgrades in recent years including sound work since the involvement of Dolby Labs. It's used as a showcase for the company's products including the ATMOS multichannel surround format.

In 2012 the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced a new rental deal for the organization to use the venue for the Oscar ceremonies through 2028. The initial agreement was set to expire after the 2013 telecast.

The theatre was, for a while, the home for the Cirque du Soleil spectacular "Iris" devoted to the history of film. The Cirque show, which up sucked many millions in production cost (including a reported $30 million in renovations to the theatre), was supposed to be a permanent tourist attraction for the center. It closed with big losses in early 2013. The L.A. Times had a story about the closure.

The City of Los Angeles became the owner in 2017 with a purchase for $100,000 from CRA/LA, the agency charged with winding down the Community Redevelopment Agency's operations. Operation of the theatre did not change with the sale as shopping mall operator CIM had a 99 year lease. Bianca Barragan had the story in "City of LA closes escrow...," an August 15 piece on Curbed L.A. The city had issued $43.21 million in bonds for the 1999 construction and in addition was owed $28.3 million by CIM to repay a city loan for improvements for the show "Iris."

The Hollywood and Highland Center was sold in 2019 to DJM, a San Jose real estate firm, and Gaw Capital USA, a branch of a Hong Kong private equity firm. The August 5 L.A. Times story "Hollywood and Highland center sold; renovations to start next year" noted that the deal excluded the Dolby Theatre, which CIM continues to manage. The Curbed L.A. story the same day "Hollywood and Highland shopping center sold..." also mentioned that the new team was planning renovations in 2020 and 2021.

Variety also covered somewhat the same material with their article "CIM Sells Hollywood & Highland, Retains Dolby Theatre." The Variety story mentions that the deal also excluded the Chinese Theatre, a property where CIM had acquired ownership of the land but not the building. CIM later sold the land under the Chinese. The building is owned by Elie Samaha, Don Kushner and a consortium of other investors. Their lease expired in 2023 and was renegotiated. If they had been unable to secure a new lease, control of the building would have reverted to the property owner.

Broadway comes to the Dolby: In August 2018 it was announced that the Nederlander Organization would began booking Broadway shows into the Dolby starting in February 2020. In a press release, CIM was mentioned as "owner and operator" of the theatre. Shaul Kuba, co-founder and principal of CIM Group was quoted as saying:

"The Dolby Theatre is internationally recognized and with its advanced technology that provides for state-of-the-art sound and projection, television production capabilities and stunning interior, it is a sought-after option for a host of productions. The Hollywood Pantages Theatre bringing Broadway shows to Dolby Theatre complements our program lineup."

In March 2020 the bulk of the season was cancelled due to virus concerns following the run of "Escape To Margaritaville." The booking of "Mean Girls" was cancelled. The theatre reopened in October 2021 with the start of the Broadway season including rescheduled engagements of "My Fair Lady" and "The Band's Visit."

Broadway productions take a break at the theatre: The last show in this initial experiment was "Hairspray," closing May 21, 2023. The Nederlander website Broadway in Hollywood has a Dolby Theatre page.

For the 2024-25 season the Nederlander Organization is offering "Avatar: The Last Airbender," a concert presentation on November 22 and 23, 2024 as well as a return of "Annie," playing May 7 through 18, 2025.

A new owner: The theatre was put on the market in 2023. See "Dolby Theatre, Hollywood Home of the Oscars for 22 Years, Put Up for Sale," an October 26 story that was spotted by Donavan S. Moye on The Wrap. They noted that the majority owner of the building was the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and management of the theatre was handled by investment firm Canyon Partners. The Wrap cited "Theatre that hosts the Oscars is up for sale," a Bloomberg News story by Jon Gittelsohn, which suggested that the deal would possibly be worth as much as $70 million.

It was announced in October 2024 that the theatre had been sold to JEBS Hollywood Entertainment, a company run by Elie Samaha and his partners. See "Dolby Theatre, Home of the Oscars, Sells to Elie Samaha's Company," Pat Saperstein's October 15 story for Variety. Also see stories from Deadline and the L.A. Times.

Samaha and his partners also own Grauman's Chinese, the Yamashiro Restaurant, the Vogue Theatre on Hollywood Blvd. (now used as a church) and the former Fox Theatre, also on Hollywood Blvd. Also involved in JEBS are Sherwin Jarol of SMB Equities, former Sony Pictures president Jeff Sagansky, Jonah Lazowski, Two Girls Holdings and Sheikh Abdulla Bin Mohamed Al Qasimi and his Master Investment Group. The deal, which also included two parking lots, was reportedly in the $50 million range.

Status: Currently open for occasional concert bookings and other events and, of course, the annual Oscar show. The Academy's current contract with the venue runs through 2028.

The entrance:

Looking in from the street. The main floor entrance and boxoffice are hidden around behind the stairs that go up to level 2. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The boxoffice on the left, and the main floor entrance doors on the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The entrance up a level, on the 2nd floor of the complex. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

Lobby areas:

Looking in from the main floor entrance. The ramp on the left gets you to the front of the main floor, the "orchestra" section. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

On the main floor looking back toward the entrance doors. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

On level 2 looking out toward the entrance doors into the mall. On the right there are doors leading to the back of the main floor, the "parterre" section. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

Level 2 looking in toward the bar. The gentleman on the far right will sell you a Broadway in Hollywood subscription. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

At the entrance end of the level 2 lobby looking east toward the rest rooms. The entrance doors from the mall are out of the frame to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

On level 3 looking out to the mall doors and the TCL Chinese 6 neon across the way. Entrance doors to the 1st balcony, here called "mezzanine 1," are off to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

On level 3 looking toward the bar, hiding back behind the stairs. The exit doors to the mall are behind us. The doors at the left go into the 1st balcony. Sorry, "mezzanine 1." The stairs continue on up to the 2nd balcony level. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The main floor lobby as seen from level 3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

Looking up from level 3. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The level 4 view from near the elevators. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

A better look along the east wall of the level 4 lobby. The glass doors lead to another stairway that goes to level 5. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

The west side of level 4. On the left is one of the entrances to the 2nd balcony. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

The east wall of lobby level 5. Those are the stairs up from level 4 at the center of the image. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

Looking toward house right on level 5. The windows look north toward the Hollywood Hills. The elevator lobby is just out of the frame to the right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

A view back to house left from the bar. The entrances to the 3rd balcony, aka "mezzanine 3," are out of the frame to the right and around at the other end of the curve. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

Auditorium views:

A view from the rear of the main floor showing the problem of a normal-size Broadway show looking very lost in the theatre. Thanks to Mike Hume for his photo, taken during the October 2021 run of "My Fair Lady." He comments:

"I knew the black (moveable) proscenium was 64' wide, but of course that's not what looks like the real proscenium which is the gold arches. The inner (upstage) arch is 83' wide at stage level and the outer (downstage) arch is 92' at stage level. The 'My Fair Lady' set is a 32' wide playing area with the show's portal surrounding it (lit in blue) only 44' wide. All on 83' of stage width!"

Looking across from the front of the main floor. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The trusses for the Dolby ATMOS sound system speakers before they're hoisted up. It's a Dolby Labs photo that was included with the 2012 Silver Screening Reviews post "Oscars venue reopens as Dolby Theatre."

A look to the rear from house right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

Another view to the rear. It's a photo from Dolby Labs. Thanks to Dolby for permission to use their photos. They used to have a page about the theatre on the Dolby Labs website but it's now gone missing.

Looking toward the stage from the 1st balcony level. The show was "Escape To Margaritaville." Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

A view that was included with a December 2012 L.A. Times article "Owner of Dolby Theatre says it will comply with city loan deal" about the venue's repayment of loans extended to the Cirque du Soleil "Iris" production. It's an Al Seib photo.

The 1st balcony from house left. The 2013 photo appears courtesy of Dolby Labs.

A photo by David Walter Banks that appeared with "Dolby hopes to lure movie fans back...," a May 2015 SF Gate story by Benny Evangelista that included photos of both the Dolby Theatre and the Vine Theatre, a newly revamped demo house for the company's Dolby Vision concept.

The 1st balcony from house right. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

The house left end of the 1st balcony. The photo by David Walter Banks appeared with the May 2015 SF Gate story about Dolby's new products.

The boxes as seen from across the auditorium. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

A wider look across from 1st balcony level. Thanks to Mike Hume for his photo. See the page about the Dolby Theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site for more great photos.

A view to the rear from the front of the 1st balcony. Photo: Bill Counter - 2020

One end of the control booth at the rear of the 1st balcony. It's a 2015 photo by David Walter Banks from SF Gate.

Looking down onto the main floor and stage set up as a banquet hall. Thanks to Mike Hume for his 2nd balcony photo. The event was the 2019 AFI Lifetime Achievement Award for Denzel Washington.

The view from the 3rd balcony. It's a photo by Perry C. Riddle that appeared with "Grand Illusion," an unfavorable review of the new mall and theatre by Nicolai Ouroussoff in the November 9, 2001 issue of the L.A. Times. Thanks to Mike Hume for locating the article and providing a PDF of it via the page about the theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site.

A 2021 view down from the 3rd balcony. The scenery was for "The Band's Visit." Photo: Bill Counter

The 3rd balcony seating area. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

Another 3rd balcony view toward the stage. Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

A closer look at the "tiara." Photo: Bill Counter - 2021

Up in the tiara before the 96th Academy Awards held on March 10, 2024. The photo was included in a post on the IATSE Facebook page saluting the work by the men and women of Los Angeles stagehands Local 33 who made the show happen. Thanks to Mike Hume for spotting the post.

Backstage:

Looking across from stage right during setup for Denzel Washington's 2019 AFI Life Achievement award. Photo: Mike Hume

Stage left looking upstage along the lockrail. Photo: Mike Hume - 2019

The trap room as seen from upstage right. Thanks to Mike Hume for his 2019 photo. He comments:

"It's about 3.5 stories high, the small square to the left of the set of three topmost fluorescent lights is a double door entrance - to give you some sense of scale. This was all dug out for Cirque’s show. Originally the level the photo was taken from was a rehearsal room and the lower levels didn’t exist."

A peek onto the forestage grid from an access door in the house right wall. Thanks to Mike Hume for his 2019 photo. He notes:

"This where you get into the 'tiara' above the auditorium. We’re looking from SL to SR. The proscenium is on our right and is perpendicular to the grid beams on the floor. The grid extends something like 10-15ft. The shiny horizontal beams we can just make out form the guardrail at the downstage end of the grid. The main ellipse of the tiara has a catwalk all the way around it. A corridor leading on from the forestage grid door heads to the door onto the loading gallery."

More exterior views:

In this 2000 view we're looking across the construction of the theatre formerly known as the Kodak toward Hollywood Blvd. and the El Capitan. The photo was a post on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page by Alexander Horn.

A 2000 construction shot by Julian Ernesto Garcia. He added it as a comment to the photo above on the Vintage Los Angeles Facebook page. It also appeared in a 2023 post for the Lost Angeles Facebook group.

An elephant atop the Hollywood and Highland Center -- an homage to D.W. Griffith's "Intolerance." Photo: Bill Counter - 2007

The Hollywood sign as seen through an arch at the Hollywood & Highland Center. Photo: Bill Counter - 2007

Looking west on Hollywood Blvd in 2007 when the venue was still named the Kodak Theatre. The Dolby Theatre is back deep in the Hollywood and Highland complex. That's the El Capitan on the left and the Chinese down the block at the center of the photo. Photo: Bill Counter

A fine 2008 view of the Hollywood and Highland mall and the Kodak Theatre. On the left of the Chinese note the crane and formwork for the new Madame Tussaud's building. Thanks to Sal Gomez for locating the photo. At the lower center it's the El Capitan.

The entrance at night. Photo: Dolby Labs - 2013

A June 13, 2020 L.A. Times photo by Wally Skalij that appeared in the June 14 issue with this copy: "The Road to Equality - Volunteers helped paint 'All Black Lives Matter' in block letters along Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood as peaceful protests continued to unfold Saturday across L.A. County." Theatres in Los Angeles were closed at the time due to Coronavirus concerns.

The Dolby Theatre in the Movies:

We get this great aerial view when Justin Timberlake flies into town with his not-quite-girlfriend in Will Gluck's film "Friends With Benefits" (Sony/Screen Gems, 2011). The Dolby (here with Kodak Theatre still painted on the roof) is to the left of the Loew's hotel, at this time still called the Renaissance. That's the El Capitan in the lower left with the Chinese just above it. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for another aerial view showing the Chinese forecourt as well as three Pantages shots from a breakup scene at the beginning of the film.

A look west at dusk with signage visible for the El Capitan, the Chinese and the Dolby in "The Fanatic" (Quiver Distribution, 2019). John Travolta plays a fan with behavioral issues who gets carried away when his favorite star won't give him an autograph. The film, directed by Fred Durst, also stars Ana Golja as a friend who tries to help and Devon Sawa as the star who gets into big trouble by not being a good celebrity. Conrad Hall was the cinematographer. See the Historic L.A. Theatres in Movies post for several more Hollywood Blvd. shots.

More Information: Audio pioneer Ray Dolby died at age 80 in 2013. The New York Times ran a story about his work.

Hadley Meares had a fine February 2017 story: "How the Oscars Spent 73 Years Looking For a Home" on Curbed L.A. Hollywood in Hi-Def had a 2012 story about the building getting outfitted with the new Dolby ATMOS sound system.

Visit Mike Hume's page about the Dolby Theatre on his Historic Theatre Photography site for an extensive tour.

Los Angeles Theatres

Dolby Theatre

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