Galaxy Uptown among theaters to feature D-Box seats with 3D viewing | Arts & Culture

Call it what you want: riding the movie, feeling the flick.

Starting Friday at two area theaters, the movie will move you. The Galaxy Theatre Uptown in Gig Harbor and Galaxy Theatres in Monroe have equipped two theaters with D-BOX seats.

Movie goers seeing "Clash of the Titans" will have their choice of seeing the old-fashion way or in 3D with D-Box seats.

Warner Brothers has allowed the D-BOX corporation to insert a motion code into the film that talks to the seats while the movie is running. The seat becomes perfectly synchronized with the movie.

"If the car you're in the movie, turns left, your seat turns to the left," said A.J. Witherspoon, general manager of the Galaxy Theatre Uptown in Gig Harbor. "When someone starts the car, it shakes. When there's gunshots, it shakes."

The two movie houses are the only two in the northwest with D-BOX seats. There are only 20 D-Box equipped theaters in the country.

This week, Galaxy ripped out two rows of regular seats in each theater and replace with 22 D-Box MFX seats. Inside each seat are three servo motors that move the viewer right, left, up and down.

Each seat is also equipped with an industrial-strength cup holder to keep your drink in sync with the movie. There's also a control near your leg that lets you increase or decrease the motion if the action gets too rough for you.

But the extra-large and movable seats come at an extra cost. Galaxy is adding an additional $8 per ticket to sit in a D-Box seat. Adding an additional 3D surcharge, an adult evening "Clash of the Titans" ticket will cost $21.

For that price, you get a reserved seat. Once you've bought your ticket, the theater will turn on your seat. Don't think that you can buy and regular ticket and move to a D-Box seat because unsold seats won't be turned on.

"No barf bags yet," said Witherspoon with a smile. "But ask me tomorrow night after the first public showing. We may be changing a few things."