JAMESTOWN — At a time when theaters are struggling to fill seats, Bison 6 Cinema in Jamestown has adapted to the situation by running local promotions, holding private events and showing faith-based movies and classic box office hits, according to Cory Keim, owner of Bison 6 Cinema.
Keim said seeing movies in the theater is a great entertainment option for families.
“It’s probably some of the cheaper entertainment you can get out of the home,” he said. “We have national releases. It’s the same movies you see in New York or LA, Fargo, Bismarck for a much lower price and we got different ranges. We’ve got good kids PG rated movies, go to Christian faith movies, horror movies, romantic comedies, PG 13 to R rated.”
Bison 6 Cinema shows faith-based movies that have a limited release or movies with North Dakota ties such as “Hazel,” which Keim said do well locally. He said the 1985 hit “Back to the Future” did well at Bison 6 Cinema, which was helped by showcasing a 1981 DeLorean known for being the time travel vehicle from the movie.
Bison 6 Cinema includes six wall-to-wall curved screens, Dolby Stereo sound and stadium seating. Each auditorium includes 77 to 200 seats.
“It’s all satellite downloads and it’s digital projection,” Keim said.
Bison 6 Cinema keeps prices for tickets and food – popcorn with butter, chips with nacho cheese dip, pizza, hotdogs, pretzels, White Castle sliders, candy and more – much lower than other locations such as Bismarck or Fargo, Keim said. He said tickets at those theaters could cost up to $20 with added features such as viewing the movie in 3D and sitting in lounger chairs.
“Then their concessions are almost double of what we charge,” Keim said.
He said having reasonable prices gets people to come back.
Keim said the coronavirus pandemic hurt the movie theater industry.
“If they’re still recovering from it, we thought this would be the recovery year,” he said. “But next year, we hope will be the recovery year.”
Keim said box offices nationally are down about 20% in revenue this year. He said film companies have not released as many movies as they used to, and even the quality of the movies is not as good.
John M. Steiner / The Jamestown Sun
“Even this past year, the summer looked good, but then there were some movies that just failed, ‘Tron’ and ‘Roofman,’” he said. “There were some other ones during the summer that looked good, and when they came out, they didn’t do as well as they expected them to.”
Keim said movies being released to the box office in November and December could make up for the slow year. New releases for the last two months of 2025 include: “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” “The Running Man,” “Wicked: For Good,” “Zootopia 2,” “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” “Anaconda” with Jack Black and Paul Rudd, and “David.”
Keim said several good movies will be released to theaters in 2026, including “Mercy,” “I Can Only Imagine 2,” “Hoppers,” “The Cat in the Hat,” “The Devil Wears Prada 2,” Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu,” “Mega Minions,” “Paw Patrol 3,” “The Odyssey,” “Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping,” “Focker In-Law,” “Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew,” “Jumanji 3,” “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Angry Birds Movie 3, among others.
Keim said film companies are also releasing some movies directly to streaming services. He said more movies are getting released much sooner to streaming services rather than keeping them longer in movie theaters, and people got used to staying home.
“The film companies, I think, are realizing that, and I think they are going to release more movies in the theaters and keep them in the theaters longer,” he said. “We’re always looking for at least 45 days in the theater before they go to any streaming or anything. That’s the way it was back when there were DVDs. There used to be 60- to 90-day grace in the theaters before it went to DVD.”
He said most movies are shown on the big screen for two weeks. He said some movies that are released around the holidays might need to play in theaters for three weeks, while some bigger releases require four weeks.
Keim said keeping a movie for four weeks in smaller theaters with two screens means other new releases cannot be shown at those locations. After two weeks, attendance for those releases is lower, and other new releases that weren’t shown can be two weeks old.
Keim said writers and actors in Hollywood were on strike two years ago, and that also delayed bigger movies that would be released to theaters.
“It halted all movies that were being produced, so there was a limited amount (being produced),” he said. “A lot of them got pushed back to 2026 and even 2027. Hopefully, the next two years will be record-breaking years.”
Keim said Bison 6 Cinema holds private parties or private showings usually from 10:30 am. to 1 p.m. on Saturdays. He said a table can be set up in the theater for a child’s birthday party, for example, so kids can open presents and eat once the move is over.
“It’s regular price matinees and regular price concessions, but you get a private showing,” he said. “We don’t charge an event fee or anything like that.”
He also said a private group can rent out an auditorium for video games from 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for $100. The concession stand is open during that time.
Keim said another way he tries to get people to return to the theaters is to sell free popcorn shirts or blankets. He said those who purchase those items get a free small popcorn when they wear the shirt or bring the blanket in.
Other promotions are also held during the week, including student night on Thursdays, where individuals can get in for the matinee price by showing their student IDs.
For more information about Bison 6 Cinema in Jamestown or Valley Twin Cinema, visit
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