Detailed Information

The Dolby Theatre was built as part of the Hollywood & Highland Center, a shopping center and entertainment complex built at the northwest corner of the intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Highland Avenue. The development was a major catalyst for the revitalization of the western end of the Hollywood Walk of Fame along Hollywood Boulevard, and included a new Loews hotel and the historic TCL Chinese Theatre.

Dolby Theatre Auditorium

The 3,400-seat theatre cost $94 million to build. David Rockwell, founder of the Rockwell Group , designed it in conjunction with Theatre Projects Consultants  who provided concept design, theatre planning, and theatre equipment design/specification services.

A core component of the design was ensuring large-scale television/broadcast events could use the theatre effectively, both technically and in appearance, and as such leading industry professionals were consulted extensively throughout the planning and design phases.

Notable technical features include:

• A “media cockpit” control and camera area, on a hydraulic lift, in the center of the Orchestra / Main Floor seating, convertible into regular seating when not required for large-scale productions and broadcasts.
• Over-sized yet concealed channels accommodating cable runs throughout the auditorium and backstage areas, as well as to external locations for media vehicles, making temporary wiring easy to rig and dismantle.
• A grid above the auditorium extending about 15ft (4.5m) in front of the stage, which allows for flexible temporary technical installations and was heavily utilized for Cirque du Soleil’s residency at the theatre.
• Substantial electrical power available throughout all areas of the theatre and support locations.
• A large audio-visual booth (43ft wide by 11ft deep – 13.1m by 3.4m) located centrally at the rear of the first Mezzanine.
• An adjustable proscenium, maximum width 64ft (19.5m) adjustable down to 43ft (13.1m).

Auditorium from Balcony

The design of the auditorium sought to blend glamour with function, which Rockwell considers a modern interpretation inspired by theatres of the 1920s. The theatre’s proscenium arch clearly takes cues from the proscenium of Le Grand Rex, a 1932 movie theatre located in Paris and to this day Europe’s largest movie theatre by seating capacity.

The main level comprises Orchestra / Main Floor seating with the Parterre located behind a small break in height.

There are three balconies (called Mezzanine 1, 2, and 3) which are flanked with boxes on each side, stepping down toward the proscenium.

The ceiling features a striking silver tiara which extends vertically down to the auditorium floor, while also being practical in providing concealed cable runs and flexible cove lighting positions in the auditorium ceiling.

A major component of the theatre is its five-level grand lobby, in part inspired by the Paris Opera House where large lobbies allow everyone to see and be seen – something considered crucial to the theatre’s Hollywood aspirations at the time of design.

The stage is among the largest of indoor theatres in the United States, slightly smaller than both the Shrine Auditorium and Radio City Music Hall, however the theatre’s seating capacity is significantly less than both – around half.

The theatre opened on 9th November 2001 with a gala concert starring British tenor Russell Watson along with the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and Choir.

After The Oscars, 2018

The Dolby Theatre played host to Cirque du Soleil’s Iris , an acrobatic journey through the world of cinema, from mid-2011 until early 2013. Although initially booked for a run of 10 years with a month-long break each Spring for the Oscars, the show closed in early 2013 due to poor ticket sales. Cirque du Soleil made significant changes to the theatre, including adding stage lifts extending 44ft under the original stage floor, at a cost of approximately $40 million.

In January 2012 Eastman Kodak Co. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and in February won court approval to remove its name from the theatre. Landlord CIM/H&H Media had sought to compel Kodak to continue with their 20-year naming rights deal, signed in 2000 and worth $72 million.

At the start of May 2012 it was announced that Dolby Laboratories had signed a 20-year deal taking over the naming rights. Simultaneously the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences  announced that, after entertaining multiple offers to relocate, it had negotiated a new 20-year deal to keep the Academy Awards at the theatre. The first premiere to be held at the newly renamed Dolby Theatre was Pixar’s Brave (2012)  on 18th June 2012.

In August 2017 the City of Los Angeles purchased the theatre for $100,000 from CRA/LA, the Community Redevelopment Agency of the City of Los Angeles, which was being disbanded. In April 1999 the City had issued $43.21 million in taxable bonds for the construction of the theatre, and with $28.3 million still owing, the City had to control the property. The 99-year lease to CIM Group for operation of the theatre was not affected by the change in ownership.

The Dolby Theatre plays host to a healthy number of live events in addition to television tapings and award shows. The Oscars continue to be broadcast to a global audience from the theatre, and from 2016 to 2021 America’s Got Talent  hosted its live Finals shows from the theatre (the live Finals moved to the Pasadena Civic Auditorium from 2022 onwards).

In 2019, the surrounding Hollywood & Highland Center changed ownership in a deal worth $325 million. The complex was renovated at a reported cost of $100 million and rebranded as Ovation Hollywood in 2022.

Following the Covid-19 pandemic the theatre hosted Broadway in Hollywood shows displaced from the Pantages Theatre one mile east of the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, during the extended run of “Hamilton”  held at the Pantages. The last Broadway in Hollywood show played at the Dolby in May 2023.

In the Fall of 2023 it was reported  that the theatre was up for sale, with a price tag of as much as $70 million.