Entertainment
‘The Wizard of Oz at Sphere’ Helped Pave A Yellow Brick Road to Profit for Sphere Entertainment Co.
Sphere Entertainment Co. reported this week that ticket sales for immersive experience The Wizard of Oz at Sphere has topped $290 million since late August, and last year’s sales helped the company chart its first profitable year since launching the Las Vegas venue in 2023.
More than 2.2 million tickets have been sold to the Sphere’s version of the 1939 classic Judy Garland film, which has been remastered and enhanced for Sphere’s one-of-a-kind visual and sound system.
Overall, the company reported that sales of tickets to Oz and residencies by acts including Dead & Company, Eagles, Anyma, Kenny Chesney and Backstreet Boys helped boost gross revenue 8% to $1.2 billion and reverse a loss in 2024 to generate a profit of $33.4 million for 2025.
“Our success in Las Vegas is an important blueprint for our global vision,” Sphere CEO James Dolan said on a call discussing the company’s 2025 earnings.
Dolan said the company took another step toward accomplishing that vision — to install a global network of Sphere venues — with the announcement last month that a second U.S. Sphere will open outside of Washington, D.C., by 2030.
Located in National Harbor, Maryland, the mini Sphere will have 6,000 seats compared to the Las Vegas Sphere’s 20,000 seats and is expected to cost around $1 billion to build. State and local public funding is expected to offset that cost by about $200 million, Dolan said. The company expects to be able to lure ticket-buyers from the some 15 million tourists who visit National Harbour annually for business and conventions.
The company also said its development partners in Abu Dhabi are close to finalizing a location for the large Sphere being planned there.
For the 12 months ending Dec. 31, Sphere Entertainment reported an operating loss of $229.6 million, which was a 38%, or $143 million, improvement from 2024. Adjusted operating income rose 138% to $261.8 million compared to 2024.
Ticket sales from some 880 showings of The Wizard of Oz at Sphere, which debuted on Aug. 28, 2025, along with older Sphere Experience films Postcard from Earth and V-U2 An Immersive Concert Film, helped contribute a nearly $104 million increase in annual revenue — roughly two-thirds of the overall increase in company revenues.
Elsewhere, revenue at MSG Networks — which includes the company’s regional and sports entertainment networks, MSG Network, MSG Sportsnet and its streaming offering MSG+ — fell 15% to 438.6 million compared to a year ago on fewer subscribers.
Revenue from sponsorship, signage, suite license fees and advertising on the Sphere Las Vegas’ 580,000 square foot “Exosphere” — the largest LED screen in the world — was $9.4 million less in 2025 than the year prior. The company did announce an official partnership with Delta Air Lines in January, with the Delta SKY360° Club to be the Sphere’s first branded hospitality space.
Entertainment
No, Diplo Wasn’t a Grassy Bush at Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show
The video Diplo shared of himself as one of the now globally famous and much beloved grassy bushes from Bad Bunny’s lauded Feb. 8 Super Bowl Halftime Show appears to be AI generated.
The clip posted Friday (Feb. 13) shows Diplo dressed as a bush alongside a fleet of other dancing bushes on the football field, with the word “surprise” layered over the video.
But a few things stick out as incorrect: The costume Diplo is wearing in the video does not match the actual, taller and spikier grassy costumes worn during the show. The view he gives of the field shows no other elements of the expansive halftime show production — which included Bad Bunny’s famous casita (and its crew of famous guests, including Jessica Alba and Cardi B), the set of power lines that the Puerto Rican superstar scaled, along with a bevy of other set elements and dancers.
Finally, Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., where Super Bowl LX was played, does not have a roof, and the stadium in the clip posted by Diplo is shown with one.
Regardless, the post generated some good jokes, with one commenter noting that the video marks “a new level of industry plant.” And jokes aside, Diplo is a regular Super Bowl attendee who was at this year’s game, along with some of its many surrounding parties. Prior to the game, he also played a set at San Francisco’s Pier 80 in a double billing with Calvin Harris on Feb. 6.
Meanwhile, Bad Bunny, who was absolutely 100% without a doubt present for the halftime show, had the second-largest streaming day of his career on Feb. 9, the day after his historic performance.
Entertainment
Olivia Dean’s Aptly Titled ‘The Art of Loving’ Tops U.K. Albums Chart for Valentine’s Day
Olivia Dean’s winning streak continues as The Art of Loving earns a seventh non-consecutive week at No. 1 on the U.K.’s Official Albums Chart (Feb. 13).
The London-born singer-songwriter is enjoying a bumper start to 2026, having occupied the top spot for five of the first seven weeks of the year. On Feb. 1, Dean also became the first British artist to collect the Grammys’ best new artist prize since 2019, and only the 10th overall.
The Art of Loving, first released in September, is yet to leave the top five of the Official Albums Chart. The LP’s single, “Man I Need,” also scored a week at the summit of the U.K.’s Official Singles Chart, and is currently at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
The Art of Loving is the longest running No. 1 album by a British female artist this decade; Adele’s 30 (2021) was the previous holder of the record with five weeks at the summit.
Following his acclaimed Super Bowl Halftime Show on Sunday (Feb. 8), Bad Bunny roars into the top 10 for the first time in his career. The Puerto Rican star’s Debí Tirar Más Fotos jumps 42 places to hit a new peak of No. 2 this week. Upon its original release in January 2025, the LP peaked at No. 13.
J. Cole’s The Fall-Off lands at No. 3 to give the rapper his fifth top 10 LP. The record was billed by the North Carolina native to be his final album, and features guest appearances from Burna Boy, Erykah Badu, Future and Tems.
The remainder of the top five goes to greatest hits compilations from Fleetwood Mac (50 Years – Don’t Stop) and The Weeknd (The Highlights), clocking in at No. 4 and No. 5, respectively. Japanese-born Joji’s Piss In the Wind lands at No. 6 to give him his highest ever charting album to date in the U.K.
Entertainment
Casey Wasserman to Sell Agency Following Epstein Fallout
Casey Wasserman is planning to sell his namesake agency amid escalating fallout tied to documents released in the Jeffrey Epstein case, as first reported by The Wall Street Journal on Friday (Feb. 11).
The Journal reported that Wasserman formally put the agency on the market and informed staff of the move in an internal memo, citing the controversy and recent client and executive departures.
In the memo, Wasserman wrote: “At this moment, I believe that I have become a distraction to those efforts. That is why I have begun the process of selling the company, an effort that is already underway.”
He added that Wasserman president Mike Watts “will assume day-to-day control of the business” while he focuses on his role leading the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games organizing committee.
“First and foremost, I want to apologize to you,” Wasserman wrote to employees. “I’m deeply sorry that my past personal mistakes have caused you so much discomfort. It’s not fair to you, and it’s not fair to the clients and partners we represent so vigorously and care so deeply about.”
The decision follows intense scrutiny after newly unsealed Epstein-related materials included email exchanges between Wasserman and Ghislaine Maxwell from 2003. Wasserman has maintained that his interactions were limited and occurred before Maxwell’s criminal conduct became public.
In Friday’s memo, he reiterated that position, writing that his contact “consisted of one humanitarian trip to Africa and a handful of emails that I deeply regret sending.”
He also stated he was “heartbroken that my brief contact with them 23 years ago has caused you, this company, and its clients so much hardship over the past days and weeks.”
The fallout has already had a measurable impact across the representation business. Multiple music and sports clients have exited or signaled plans to leave the agency in recent days, including high-profile music acts and athletes. Reporting across trade outlets has described internal pressure from agents exploring buyout scenarios or spin-offs to protect client relationships.
Chappell Roan, Orville Peck and Sylvan Esso are among those to have departed the agency, while Best Coast’s Bethany Cosentino wrote via Instagram on Feb. 5, “I did not consent to having my name or my career tied to someone with this kind of association to exploitation.”
On Jan. 31, a day after the release of the latest round of files in the Epstein case, Wasserman sent a statement to The Hollywood Reporter apologizing for his involvement with Maxwell while denying “a personal or business relationship” with Epstein himself.
“I deeply regret my correspondence with Ghislaine Maxwell which took place over two decades ago, long before her horrific crimes came to light,” Wasserman said. “I never had a personal or business relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. As is well documented, I went on a humanitarian trip as part of a delegation with the Clinton Foundation in 2002 on the Epstein plane. I am terribly sorry for having any association with either of them.”
A Wasserman representative did not immediately respond to Billboard‘s request for comment.
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