Marion Rentals
Private Movies & Small Celebrations
Want to watch a movie privately with friends and family?
Base rate is only $200. This includes 3 hours access to Theatre B (90 seats) Thursday-Sunday and viewing of a film we have in our current rotation at the time of your event. This must be non-ticketed and any load-in, set up, decorating, load- out or accompanying elements must fall within your 3 hour block. Hours directly adjacent to your rental time block may be reserved pending availability at a rate of $25/hr.
Would you like to choose a film that is not in our rotation?
We are happy to check availability with the studios and upon approval, license and ingest it for you. This option comes with additional licensing fees paid completely to the movie studios. Base rate is $400 for a 3 hour block Thursday-Sunday. This must be non-ticketed and any load-in, set up, decorating, load-out or accompanying elements must fall within your 3 hour block. Hours directly adjacent to your rental time block may be reserved pending availability at a rate of $25/hr.
*For Bookings Monday – Wednesday there will be an additional fee of $100 added to your base rate.
Turning your movie into a party? Here are some things to consider and additional fees they may apply:
Our concession stand is open and available to you and your guests for the entirety of your rental. We offer all movie theatre staples you might expect like popcorn, candy, and sodas. In addition, we also have a full bar featuring beer, wine, liquor, hard seltzers and signature cocktails. We can design and offer a themed cocktail or mocktail exclusive to your party upon request for a fee of $25.
We have a few options for how you can provide concessions for your guests, and we are happy to execute whichever you feel works best for your budget at no additional charge. You may choose from the following:
“Cash Bar” This means each guest orders and pays for their own items as they go and there is no additional cost to you, the renter.
“Open bar” We will provide wristbands to you which you can distribute to your guests so we can identify them as part of your party. They can then order what you pre-determine you’d like to cover the costs of and we ring it up at menu price on one tab that you can settle at the end of the night. You could limit this to “no alcohol” for example or let them have at it. It’s totally up to you!
“Ticketed Bar” this is similar to the open bar but is limited by the number of tickets you distribute. In other words you might want to provide everyone with a small popcorn and soda. So, we would provide you with tickets and you would give out as many as you’d like. Each ticket would be redeemable at the concessions stand for one small popcorn and soda. You could also assign one ticket to be redeemable for one alcoholic beverage of choice. It’s very flexible and you pay the exact price for each item as listed on the menu.
We also offer bottles of wine, buckets of beer or even mixed coolers. That’s right. You can purchase a variety of beer, wine and seltzers from us and have it iced down in a cooler or in ice buckets placed around the room. That way nobody has to leave in the middle of the movie to top off.
Hungry? It’s a birthday?
We encourage guests to enjoy one of our amazing, local, downtown restaurants. If you prefer to have something on-site, we allow pizza to be brought in or delivered. We can provide a 6-foot table for the pizza, but you must provide the paper plates and napkins. Birthday cake is also allowed but you must provide silverware and something to cut the cake. No outside drinks, candy or any other snacks are permitted. Bending or breaking this rule as well as leaving the theatre an abysmal mess may result in an additional fee of up to $250. Excessive cleaning needs can reduce the amount of time we have to get ready for someone else’s special day so please try to leave our theatre close to the way it was when you arrived. Theatre condition will be assessed upon completion of your rental and additional fees determined by theatre management. Trust us, we really hope we don’t ever have to do this!
Want to have a speaking engagement? Screen a movie you made? Host trivia? Hire a musician or bring in Catering?
Now you’re in “Special Event” territory. Please see our special event options and rates by clicking here and indicate “special event” in the dropdown menu on our rental inquiry form.
Maven Photo + Film Photography
The Marion Theatre
Nathaniel Diaz Photography
Upstairs screen
Nathaniel Diaz Photography
View from the downstairs stage
Nathaniel Diaz Photography
Downstairs screen and stage
Nathaniel Diaz Photography
Upstairs seating
Nathaniel Diaz Photography
Downstairs seating
The Marion's full bar features craft cocktails, buckets of beer, champagne and wine!
Photo by Dave Miller
There's nothing like watching a film on the big screen!
Maven Photo + Film Photography
We also host live concerts such as Steelin' Peaches: An Allman Brothers Revue.
Maven Photo + Film Photography
We host live concerts almost every month!
Maven Photo + Film Photography
Check out our full bar and concession.
Each summer we have our Summer Kids Film Series!
Summer Kids Film Series offers $3 movies for kids which also includes a snack pack!
We're also able to do trivia on the big screen!
We have tons of fun film events such as a Dumb & Dumber event where dressing up was encouraged!
Also a fun dress-up event for 13 Going on 30!
Free event for families: Santa at the Marion 2022
Our outside pavilion is used for everything from photo opps to live music to extra space for events such as FAFO!
Nosferatu with a live organ improvisation was one of the epic events we hosted in 2022.
The Reilly Encore Society launched in our upstairs theatre with the film: The Great Gatsby.
Reilly Arts Center Encore Society event with a showing of Anthony Bourdain's Roadrunner.
We offer drink specials throughout the year like $5 mimosas and bloody marys on select Saturdays!
Ocala Main Street Walking Tour.
Brick City Food Tours.
The marquee is available for customizations that make for great photo opps!
We love hosting community events such for organizations such as the Marion County Children's Alliance.
We worked with the Friends of the Public Library during a partnership series with Duke Energy: Reels and Reading in 2021.
A summer field trip where kids got to enjoy a movie and a snack pack in our historic downtown theatre.
Promoting the Community Music Conservatory through Buckets at the Marion!
We proudly host the Ocala Symphony's Coffee with the Conductor series each year!
A great fundraiser for PACE Center for Girls with a group of local musicians in 2022!
The Marion is a perfect hub for drives - contact us if interested in placing a donation box at our theatre!
A festive community music event in our downstairs theatre.
Special Events or Non-ticketed Events
Special events are held in our main 298 seat auditorium 1 and can be ticketed or non-ticketed. The rental rates listed below cover use of auditorium 1 for a 4-hour block of time. This 4-hour block includes load-in, set-up and load out. Please note that auditorium 1 often operates in conjunction with auditorium 2 which means our lobby and restrooms serve as a shared space for both areas. If this is undesirable, please consider and request the “entire building” pricing option.
Non-ticketed and ticketed base rates are the same, however for all ticketed events Marion Theatre will also retain 10% of ticket sales. A base rental includes staffed box office & concessions with full bar, two wireless microphones and 1 static lighting scene. Base rates are as follows:
- Sunday – Thursday
Auditorium 1: $500
Entire Building: $750 - Friday-Saturday
Auditorium 1: $750
Entire Building: $1,000
Additional Hours
- Hours directly adjacent to your rental time block may be reserved pending availability, for load-in, set-up or load-out at a flat rate of $100 per hour.
Ticketing
- All ticketed Events will be sold through our in-house ticketing system. No exceptions. Renters will enjoy many benefits from this including receiving a weekly auto-generated sales report. We will list your event on our website with a shareable ticket link. We can also generate a discount or comp code for you that you can give out to VIP’s if you’d like. Ticket prices can be determined by you but must be approved by the Marion. The Marion theatre will retain 10% of all ticket sales.
IMPORTANT: Above rates represent base rental fees ONLY. Substantial additional expenses are normally incurred and billed to the Lessee in addition to the base rental fees depending on the nature of the event. These additional expenses include, but are not limited to, additional technical needs, backline or additional 3rd party tech labor. For example, average production costs for live concert are $1,200-$1,400. Events utilizing the projector or a PowerPoint only can expect a much lower production cost of around $100-$200. A detailed quote will be provided upon assessment of your event needs. ALL LIVE ACTS MUST BE APPROVED BY VENUE.
Add-Ons
We offer pre-show slides that can be played before all films leading up to your event. Pricing is as follows:
- Single Image
- 1 month – $50
- 3 months – $100
- Video (up to 30 seconds)
- 1 month – $150
- 3 months $300
- Custom Marquee
- $50 per Side (entire length of event)
All ticket revenues and rental fees are subject to Florida state sales tax unless proof of non-profit status and tax exemption are provided. All ticket revenues remain under the control of Marion Theatre until final settlement.
You’re a non-profit?
So are we, so we get it: every penny counts. We offer a 10% non-profit discount if your organization is a currently registered non-profit.
Availability and Scheduling
Scheduling is done on a first-come, first-served basis. No date is considered firm until we have approved the event and a contract has been executed and the deposit secured.
Independent and Amateur Film Screenings
The Marion theatre is a great place to screen your independently made film when you are ready to share it with friends, family, the community or the world! We just have a few conditions that must be met before we can get your big premier on the books.
- Assets: We require the film to be finished. Please make sure you are done shooting and editing before you start to plan the screening.
- Audio: Please do your best to ensure the audio is balanced. Particularly if you have more than one piece of content ie) a trailer and a feature or multiple episodes of a series. We cannot monitor the volume during the event so if one is really quiet and another is really loud it will be very noticeable. Ensure your levels are the same before the next step. Please note that your film will play the way you mix it. Our house is a DOLBY 5.1 but if you mix in stereo it will only be played through the LR channels.
- Format: The finished assets must be delivered to us in DCP format on a USB-A compatible hard drive. DCP is the industry standard format for digital cinema projectors. If you are unsure about how to accomplish this we are happy to point you in the right direction. Once we are given the drive we will test it to make sure it works and to ensure audio is balanced. Once we approve the content, we can then begin planning your event, hold your date and get you a contract. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE.
Now that we have the hard stuff out of the way…
Private viewing in our 90 seat theatre, non-ticketed. Base rate is $400 for a 3 hour block Thursday-Sunday. This must be non-ticketed and any load-in, set up, decorating, load- out or accompanying elements must fall within your 3 hour block. Hours directly adjacent to your rental time block may be reserved pending availability at a rate of $25/hr. This includes initial preview of content with consultation and feedback and a second review should any changes need to be made. Concessions will be open during your event.
For larger premier events, ticketed or non-ticketed please visit our special event page: https://www.reillyartscenter.com/marion-rentals/#special-events
Regional & National Promoters or Agents: Avails, holds, estimates, contracts and other considerations, please email: Adam@mariontheatre.org
Novice & First Time Promoters: If you have any questions, or would like to request a phone meeting to learn more about presenting at The Marion, please email Leighton@reillyartscenter.com
Rental Inquiry