The Roxy Theater Reflects On Being Closed For One Year

The last movie I saw in theaters was Portrait of a Lady on Fire at The Roxy Theater on March 13th, 2020 - at the time, The Roxy had already announced new safety measures they were going to be taking to ensure that people could continue to attend the theater, including limiting capacity and adding more sanitation stations. Two days later, they closed down - like everyone else did - and they've yet to reopen their doors to the public.

That doesn't mean they've been sitting around doing nothing. On the contrary, they've been doing virtual film festivals, private screenings and video game parties, outdoor screenings in the Roxy Garden when the weather is nice, and during the summer they teamed up with the Missoula Paddleheads for Centerfield Cinema over at Ogren Park. Even though the theater itself has been closed, they've managed to keep plenty busy.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel? They seem to think so - in a Facebook post this week, The Roxy Theater took some time to reflect on their past year being closed down, but they also imply that they're beginning to plan for the "not-so-distant day" when they can safely reopen for public screenings.

And man, I really hope they do. Once I'm fully vaccinated, I plan to head back to the movie theater and basically never leave. For now, Missoula has the two AMC theaters open on the weekends, but it would be great to have Missoula's community cinema back and screening independent movies and older classics once again.

To stay updated, book a private rental or virtual screening, or just make a donation, you can head over to the Roxy Theater's website.