SEAMAX Theater Closes: Town’s Only Movie Cinema Shuts Down

A new cinematic venue, SEAMAX, is set to open in Ketchikan, Alaska, returning movie-going options to a community that lost its only theater in 2025.

The new establishment occupies the building formerly known as the Coliseum Theater. According to reporting from KRBD on April 6, 2026, the owners of the building made a commitment to the previous owners that the space would continue to function as a movie theater in some capacity.

A Multi-Sensory Cinema Experience

SEAMAX is introducing a 4-D, multi-sense experience designed to immerse viewers in the geography of Alaska. The ground floor theater, which has a seating capacity of approximately 70 people, primarily screens Edge of the Wild, a documentary-style production featuring drone footage of the state.

The 20-minute production utilizes specialized seating and environmental effects to simulate the action on screen. These features include:

• Seats that tilt, shake, and vibrate to simulate travel on bumpy dirt roads during ATV excursions in Ketchikan.
• Water sprays emitted from armrests to accompany footage of white water rafting in Hope.
• Wind effects that blow in the viewers’ faces during sequences of dog mushing in Seward.

While the 4-D experience is a central feature, the facility is designed to offer a variety of viewing options. A March 10, 2026, announcement indicated that SEAMAX will feature two separate theaters: one dedicated to the 4-D immersive experience and another dedicated to showing regular movies.

Development and Inspiration

The project was driven by Travis Robbins, a Ketchikan resident and partial owner of SEAMAX. Robbins stated that the concept had been in development for several years, sparked by a visit to the Phoenix Zoo in 2017 with his children.

It had, like, the butt ticklers and the spray water and stuff like that. I was like, man, if we could have something in Alaska where you did this and got to experience Alaska in this 4-D style thing, it would be epic.

Travis Robbins

Robbins originally believed a new building would be required to house such a concept. However, the closure of the Coliseum Theater in 2025 provided a timely opportunity to repurpose an existing cinematic space.

The acquisition of the Coliseum Theatre was handled by OZ Development, a company based in Fargo, North Dakota. In June 2025, the company announced its intention to transform the downtown building into a 5-D IMAX theater experience.