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 THE VIEW FROM THE BOXOFFICE:
ROXY
FAQIf you have a question to submit, click here to ask.
We answer your 3-D QUESTIONS Q. When did the Roxy start showing 3-D movies? A. Starting
with Disney's Toy Story 3 on June 18, 2010, we added digital 3-D
capability to our projection system. Q. To watch a 3-D movie, do we have to wear glasses? A. In order to
see the movie in 3-D, yes, you need to wear the glasses. You can
often follow the action just fine without the glasses, but certain
scenes or elements of scenes will be blurry without the glasses. Q. Are there special sized glasses for little kids? A. All the
glasses are the same size, but we have some modified glasses with tie
straps to help little kids keep them on. Very young kids (age 3 and
under) probably will not wear the glasses throughout the whole movie and
in fact, may not want to wear the glasses at all. Please don't force
your kids to wear the glasses if they don't want to; they'll probably
enjoy the movie just as much either way. Q. Why can't we keep 3-D glasses at the end of the movie like we can in Billings? A. The
Billings theatres use the RealD system for 3-D, which features
disposable glasses. We selected the Dolby 3-D system, which we
feel is superior to RealD. The Dolby system features re-usable glasses,
which are more environmentally friendly. The glasses are collected at
the end of each show and cleaned in a special machine between uses. Q. Where do we put the glasses after the movie? A. Our staff
members will collect your glasses as you exit the theatre. Please bring
your glasses out of the auditorium with you; please don't leave them at
your seat or put them in the trash. The glasses are expensive, and your
cooperation helps us keep our ticket prices as low as we can. Q. What's the best place to sit for the 3-D effects? A. While you'll be able to see good 3-D from anywhere in the auditorium, our favorite spot is anywhere in the middle rows or closer. If you sit fairly close, your field of vision is more fully occupied by the screen and the 3-D effects seem "closer." But you might want to experiment; everyone has their own preferences.
A. Yes, things are completely different now. The old system, called "analglyph," used glasses that were made of paper and had colored lenses. This resulted in a picture that had poor color and could cause headaches. Our Dolby digital 3-D system gives you a clear picture, properly tinted and brighter; it is less likely to cause eyestrain or give you a headache.
Q. With everyone installing "home theaters," will that eventually kill the movie business? A. No. A home theater, as nice as it might be, still requires that you stay home. Going out to the movies is more than just seeing a film; it's a social event shared by a group of people. It gets you out of the house, where you won't be interrupted by phone calls or visitors. And, we make the popcorn and pour the drinks for you. Finally, no home theater can provide the atmosphere a movie theatre provides. No comedy is as funny in a home theater as it is on the big screen with a big crowd.
A.
Thursday is the slowest night of the week for us, so we are usually
closed on that night to allow repairs to equipment, to prepare the film
for the upcoming week, and to give our staff a night off. When we play a
brand-new movie (or a very popular one), our contract usually stipulates
that we must play the film for 7 days each week, hence we are open on
some Thursdays. You can always call our movie-line (346-ROXY) or check
the website to find out if we're open on a Thursday or not. Q. Why can't we bring in our own pop or candy? A. The Roxy, like all theatres, depends on concession stand sales. The concession stand is our livelihood; if not for the concession stand, we would be out of business. This is because the majority of your ticket money goes to the film company. Since we are so dependent upon concession sales for our very survival, we insist that no outside food or drink be brought into the theatre.
A. Our insurance policy forbids children from being in the balcony due to safety reasons. The balcony has a low railing and a fairly steep stairway. We would hate for a mom carrying a baby to trip and fall down the stairs, and we would hate to see a rambunctious youngster accidentally dive off the edge of the balcony. Additionally, older kids (teenagers) find it hard to resist "bombing" their friends below. For all these reasons, plus a few others, the balcony is generally restricted to adults over 21 only. (On some rare occasions we are allowed to make exceptions to the balcony rules, usually if a sellout crowd is in the building. In those cases we can usually obtain permission from the insurance company to allow families into the balcony with children, but each instance is handled separately.)
A. When a movie is brand-new and we play it on its national release date, the film company requires that we play it for two (or sometimes three or even four) weeks. That's just standard industry practice. Also, if a movie is exceptionally popular we will hold it over for a second week.
A. Film company contracts require that the screen not be "shared" with another movie. Sometimes, when a film is a few weeks old, exceptions can be made to this rule, so occasionally the Roxy will play two movies at a time. But we only do this when we have permission from the film companies.
A. New films cost more than twice as much to play during their first two or three weeks of release than do films a few weeks old. Also, a brand-new film must play for at least two weeks, so we need to be sure a given film will have enough "legs" to keep drawing a crowd for the full playtime. If we feel a film might not be that popular, we wait until we can play it for just one week. (This is usually about 3 or 4 weeks after the film comes out.) Finally, not every film is available to us on the break due to the number of prints (copies) of the film made.
A. We usually don't know exactly what movie we will be playing on a particular Friday until the Monday or Tuesday of that week. Sometimes we know (or have a pretty good idea) of our schedule a week or two in advance, but we have to wait for confirmation from the film company. Calendars require a few weeks' lead time, so they aren't practical for us.
A. We have tried running matinees on various occasions, and they have not been successful. We ran matinees on Sundays for about seven months in 2001, and the only result was that our Sunday night crowd was cut by two thirds -- meaning we were working twice as many hours for the same amount of business. We still have our annual Christmas season matinees, thanks to our generous sponsors.
A. Yes - it's 866-346-ROXY (or 866-346-7699).
A. Most of them stay in our collection. We are required by contract to destroy any extra posters; we are not allowed to give them away or sell them. You can purchase posters for most current movies at www.allposters.com or www.moviegoods.com.
A. You can buy tickets in advance for any show of the current week, but we do not reserve individual rows or seats. If you are in the theatre already, you cannot "save" or reserve seats for people who haven't come in yet. That's just not fair to the other people who got there early too.
A. You can get a private showing. We negotiate fees for this type of show individually. If you want to see our current attraction, we charge a fee of $50 plus a minimum purchase of 15 tickets in any category. We can also bring in many classic movies and even some relatively recent ones, subject to film company restrictions; this is generally more costly due to film rental minimums and shipping costs. Please contact us for details.
A. No, it's not
true. The Roxy used to sell Coca-Cola, though. Q. Is it true that the Roxy building was once a car dealership? A. No. The Roxy was always a movie theatre. But the building previously on this lot was a car dealership for a few years, until it was damaged by fire in 1929. After that, it was torn down and the Roxy was built. See our HISTORY page for more details.
A. Sorry, no.
A. That's not
possible, because we don't use DVD equipment to show our films.
(See our
PROJECTION BOOTH TOUR pages for
pictures of what we do use.) Even if we had a DVD projector, it's
illegal to show a DVD outside of a private home unless it's been
licensed for a public presentation, which can be fairly expensive. Q. Does anyone actually go to the movies anymore, or has the video industry really cut into the business? A. Lots of people go to the movies; in fact the theatre industry is enjoying a record-setting year in ticket sales. The video industry has changed the business, but has not hurt it the way the media would like to have you believe. The two industries are both alive and well.
A. No. On almost
any given night, at least half of our crowd is
composed of adults...even at a Disney film. Q. Could you put a special message on the screen for me, and how much would this cost? A. We can't put
special messages on the screen during the film, but we could probably
work something out during the previews or before the show. Contact
us directly. Q. Where do the movies come from? A. Our films
come from one of these two shipping depots: Deluxe Film Services, in
Denver (Sony, Dreamworks, MGM, Paramount, and Warner Bros. films); or
Technicolor Entertainment Services in Wilmington, Ohio (Disney and
Universal films). Most shipping is
done by UPS, although we occasionally get a film via a private courier. We
also sometimes pick up a film from theatres in Miles City or
Hardin; this happens two or three times a year. Q. How do I get a question answered in this FAQ? A. Just CLICK HERE. This link will open up an e-mail window, where you can type your question and send it to us. |
