What is the capacity of the Oscars venue, the Dolby Theatre?

The Dolby Theatre first held the Academy Awards for the 74th annual ceremony in 2002, and since then, every proceeding ceremony has been held at the theatre. The 2002 event also marks the first time the Academy Awards were held in Hollywood since 1960, or the 32nd annual Oscars Ceremony.

While a consistent venue for the Academy Awards, The Dolby Theatre isn’t one of the largest indoor theatres in America, or even close to being one. It only has a capacity of 3400 seats.

Is the Dolby Theatre too small?

The largest indoor performance hall in America is the LDS Conference Centre in Salt Lake City, Utah with a capacity of 21,200 people. However, it might be the Dolby Theatre’s location on the infamous Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles that makes it the ideal spot for one of the biggest nights in the film industry.

In comparison, The Grammy Awards, which are considered one of the highest honors to win in the music industry, are typically held at The Crypto Arena, also in Los Angeles, which has a capacity of 8,000 to 13,000 depending on the type of event hosted.

However, where the Dolby Theatre lacks in seating, it makes up for in stage size. The Dolby stage is one of the largest in the US, tied with the Elliott Hall of Music at Purdue University in Indiana. The stage measures out at 113 feet wide and 60 feet deep.

The history of the Dolby Theatre

The Dolby Theatre first broke ground in its construction in 1997 and was finished by November 2001. The construction costs were $94 million at the time. Its former names include Kodak Theatre and the Hollywood and Highland Center.

Other important events The Dolby Theatre has hosted include ‘Iris’, a Cirque du Soleil residency show, which required numerous structural changes to the theatre to accommodate the show. Changes included adding lifts under the original floor, and the show ran for only two seasons.

The Dolby Theatre also hosted several seasons of ‘American Idol’, its original run in 2002, 2004 to 2007, and again in 2015 until 2016. From 2016 to 2021, excluding 2020, the theatre also hosted ‘America’s Got Talent.’

The Academy Awards remain the most significant night for the theatre, which commemorates the annual big night by showcasing the recipients of Best Picture from 2012 onward on an Art Deco column in the hall from the front entrance to the grand stairway leading up to the theatre.