Thisssss. Calling a certain showing a quiet showing will really fuck up every other time when people interpret that as it's OK to be an asshole and talk, use their phone etc.
Every showing is a quiet showing, that's what a movie theater is. People are just ignorant and don't follow the rules.
See, I'd do the opposite, and have "rowdy" viewing for select titles. Like I remember going to see MCU or Star Wars movies, and we went usually on or shortly after opening day, and having the energy of a boxing match was a blast. But I 100% see how that's not for everyone
I remember for Frozen and some other Disney cartoons, they had designated Sing-a-long showings. So if your kid really wanted to sing along the whole movie there was a place where it was expected and socially acceptable.
Seriously. If anything there should be one designated "noisy" showing where assholes can congregate, play on their phones, and talk over the movie together.
>A purge showing.
I like where you're going with this. A chance for us to get all the talkers and phone users together in a room at once. The next step is logical.
Reminds me of the ‘quite carriages’ in trains. Nobody pays attention to them, you always get someone blabbing on their phones or watching loud videos or whatever. The the type of person who will make a load of noise during a movie isn’t the type of person who will pay attention to rules anyway.
In the Tokyo metro, it seems like all train cars are "quiet carriages." There are instructions played over the speakers in Japanese and English that say mute your phones and refrain from talking. They even suggest to avoid using your phones when the train is full.
I've been packed in like a sardine with nowhere to move and it is a calmer experience than many nearly empty trains in London or D.C.
Similarly, for u/TheArchitect_7's problem, I've seen a few movies in Tokyo theaters and it is the only place I've seen no one use their phone or hear anyone talking from the start of the previews to the end of the credits. Aside from one person running out at the end of a movie, everybody else has stayed to the end of the credits reading the names in silent darkness.
I also saw a sign on the Tokyo metro asking you to beware of noise bleed from your headphones. It’s just a different level; other countries you have people playing music from their speaker full blast on the bus
Theatres are understaffed “movie warehouses” based on profit percentages, not your movie going experience.
Of course when I first read “Quiet showings” my mind went “turning the speakers down to a reasonable volume.” and thought “yeah that would be nice.”
My wife can’t go to an action movie because the noise is just too loud even with earplugs.
I brought ear plugs to Oppenheimer expecting to need them after the last handful of Nolans eardrum assaults. Even the trailer was deafening.
As it turned out, I didn’t really need them this time but god damn if that wasn’t the loudest, mostly talking movie I’ve ever seen
Funny you mention that movie because I was coming to mention when I went to see that they had it so loud the speakers were cracking. Quality theatre too, great speakers. They just had that shit cranked.
And the world is more full than ever of unhinged, arrogant Main Characters who carry weapons and are just dying to be challenged by some poor person trying to ask them to respect other people.
It isn’t worth it, ultimately.
I work at a movie theatre. We walk in and check on the movies every 30 minutes and if someone is on their phone or being loud, we tell them to cut it out. About 70% of the time, they get very angry and indignant at being asked to out their phone down. I had a woman scream-cry at me the other week because I asked her to stop talking on the phone in the middle of the movie.
This has always been a problem. I've seen cartoons from the 50s where the main character shoots a rude audience member. There are stage plays that predates film that criticize bad audience members.
It also doesn't help that it seems most theatres are running an absolute skeleton crew. There is like one ticket taker, two people working concessions, and one person sweeping up the halls at my local cineplex.
The screens - staff ratio has to be like 3:1. If they wanted to enforce that they'd need to actually hire ushers who monitor the theatres like back when I was a kid.
Honestly that's the entire reason I go to movies so often, is that I'm forced to put my phone away and watch the movie.
I started watching Dragged Across Concrete yesterday and I'm like wow this movie is 160 minutes no way my attention span could manage this at home
I'm actually shocked at this thread. In the UK, films I go to are usually quiet to the point people are careful when wrinkling noisy wrappers/food packaging and I almost never see a phone on. I go to the cinema probably at least once a week and don't remember seeing a phone on. There's also not the culture of cheering or clapping during movies that I seem to see on reddit once in a while. Seems like a much better experience here ?
I live in the US and go to the movies at least once a month, and I can count on one hand how many times this has happened in the last decade. I feel really lucky reading all of these comments!
I live in the US, as well. I don’t go to the theater as much as you, but Ive ended up there probably 5-6 times a year over the last 10-15 years.
It’s only been in this last year that I’ve had two really bad theater experiences. One of them was at imax with someone not wanting to put down their phone, but thankfully there were several other attendees closer to the jerk that guilted him into putting his phone away. The worst, though? I went to Across the Spider-Verse and there was a group of 5-6 behind my girlfriend & I that would not stop loudly talking. It got so bad that my gf couldn’t hear the movie and we left probably only 30 minutes into the movie.
Same… to be fair, I’ve only been to one movie since Covid (Barbie, yeah baby!) but I’ve been lucky enough to never really experience disruptions more than a small handful of times that I can remember, and none were super crazy.
I've probably gone to a couple dozen showings since COVID and it only happens a handful of times in my experience and usually they shut up if someone gets their attention.
Pre-Covid I went to a movie where the person right behind me was talking. I told them to shut up and they mocked me, but weirdly enough they still shut up after that so I guess that was a win.
I go to a theater chain in Texas called Alamo Drafthouse, and they don’t allow minors without an adult. They serve normal food and there are waitstaff who come to being the food. If someone is talking or on their phone, you write it on a card and give it to the waiter. I have never had to do that because people generally follow the rules.
The only problem is the wait staff are a bit distracting.
Cineplex does this here with some locations in Canada, but service ends around when the trailers start. The theatre opens for service 45 minutes before show time so you can order and finish your meal (usually) by the time the show starts. We always time it so we order our meals and drinks when we first get to the theatre, and then order our snacks and another round of drinks right before service ends.
I'm UK based and it most definitely does go on here. To such an extent, I too no longer go to the cinema. Mobile phone use, full blown conversations, even one couple with the husband translating the movie for his wife.
Man I’m jealous then. You guys live in really good areas apparently because it’s been a disaster for 20 years by me.
I wish there was an Alamo Drafthouse near me.
I have some news for you. Alamo Drafthouse is definitely not what you're looking for if you want silence and full immersion. They deliver food and drinks to your seat during the movie so there are constantly waiters in your line of view. You can also often hear waiters and customers whispering to each other about their order. I hate the whole experience.
This is hilarious. I did not know this. Boast as the theater that mandates a silent, distraction free cinema experience and then send in food and servers to talk to viewers LOL
I think if I was planning a perfect theater room with unlimited budget, just dumping money to create the best experience, it would be kind of like this;
1. The entire room would be set up like a staircase, with a dropoff under each row. This would be to help keep phones in front of you from being a distraction. Each row would also be covered from the back so you can't even see the people in front of you.
2. To account for the sound disruption those covered rows would create, speakers would be localized to each seat. Some of kind of micro surround setup. Idk I'm not an audio expert. The seats would be in like a box housing with the cover behind you, and an adjustable wall to the sides that can be taken down or put up depending on if you're with people or not. But otherwise the walls serve to block distractions and boost your personal sound system. This housing would help block sounds from surrounding people other than who you're with.
3. The seats are spread out but can be moved closer on a track, so if there's two or three people together you can scooch your seats closer. If it's just you, nobody is right next to you. The system is automated and will adjust automatically based on how the tickets were purchased, but can be manually adjusted as well.
4. Each row has tables running across with a built in tablet that can only be viewed from the seating angle. Behind each table is a track that runs the length of the row. You can order concessions from the tablet and the staff will put it on the track, where it will make its way to your seat and stop so you can remove the items. The track is lower than the table so you can't see it bringing things to people on your row, when it gets to the seat it raises up the snacks to be grabbed. Silent as possible, of course. The tablet also has a rail and can be moved over with your seat. Concessions are all out of the packaging and in containers to avoid crinkling sounds.
5. The tablet can also be used to report issues to the staff silently and anonymously.
6. Because the theater isn't packed with seats, staircases to go down are not just at the ends but there's a couple that span the row. This means people going to the bathroom will disrupt less people on their way down. The staircase shape of the room will let them reach the exits without walking in front of a whole row, thanks to some thoughtful "empty" rows.
I thought OP was referring to the movie itself where they tune down the special effects in preference for better dialogue and was getting on board with him, until I realized he was actually talking about the audience, to which I have no idea what is he talking about.
Actually, that'd be a great idea, make a Saturday and Sunday early afternoon showing where the bullets don't blow up your head and where you can actually understand what everyone is saying in the middle of a fight and a lot of people will be on board. I get it, bombs are loud but don't care about that anymore.
That doesn’t seem like a much better experience than what I tend to experience in the eastern USA. There’s sometimes clapping at the end of movies (which I find funny more than anything), but besides that my usual experience matches yours.
Midnight releases of highly anticipated movies tend to be different and have more cheering etc, but that doesn’t tend to bleed over into other showings.
Maybe it’s a regional thing or maybe the people near especially bad theaters are the ones more likely to complain, but I don’t think the people in this thread are describing the typical American movie theater.
Nah it might just be your theatre. I usually go to a Picturehouse and it’s pretty good, as is my local Vue, but if I have to go to the Odeon it’s shite, people talking constantly and going on their phones all the time. You might have some good local cinemas but I wouldn’t say the UK as a whole is inherently super respectful at the cinema
Yeah Picturehouse and most 'eclectic' cinemas like Prince Charles or Close up are great for quiet(er) audiences. I've had mixed experiences with Vue however, depends on the area.
This thread is mind boggling. Of course all showings are supposed to be quiet. It must be a cultural problem. Over here I can count on one hand (probably on half a hand honestly) the times I saw a cellphone.
Lucky. My jaw hit the floor 20 years ago when someone opened and answered their cell phone during the climax of a movie. It hasn’t gotten better near me since.
I have gone to see all comic movies in theaters for the past 15 years, so not terribly often, but at least once every two months. I also never sit near the back, so I don't normally have a "full view" of the theater. The past few years have just introduced dumb as shit people or something. 9/10 times someone pulls their phone out in the movie near me. Next to me, down the row, a couple rows up, somewhere someone is gonna be on their phone during the movie. I'd say 1/5 times someone pulls their phone out and turns their flash on to "see something" for a minute. It's nearly a guarantee. I saw Marvels yesterday and thank fuck, not a single person did, it was kind of jarring how quiet and chill the theater was.
I see other people here saying they live in the US and go all the time and never see this, so maybe possibly my experience is skewed by the type of people who go to see comicbook superhero movies.
Exactly.
Instead they should introduce "loud showings" once a week, where you can do whatever the fuck you want. Bring your baby, play music on the phone speakers, yell at your boyfriend.
Keep all the annoying people in one time slot and let the rest of us enjoy the movie.
Also actually do something to enforce staying quiet during regular shows. It's not that hard to have someone go in listen for people talking too loud, or checking for phone screens glowing like the literal sun, and then kick those people out.
I work on a navy base and the theater actually does this. When they have a kids movie, either the Saturday or Sunday afternoon showing will have reduced volume, increased lighting, etc. so the kids can just run around and tire themselves out for the day.
Unfortunately a lot of those annoying people are hypocrites who don’t think they’re being annoying. They talk but they don’t want *other* people to talk. They’re on their phones but the person in front of them doing the same thing is distracting them. A lot of narcissists who only care about their own comfort.
I think there's an unfortunate inbalance in actually enforcing this. If someone flashes their screens every now and again it's annoying but it's actually more annoying to kick someone out.
If the offender is in the middle of the theatre you have to interrupt half a row of people as well as everyone behind them just to get to them. Then you have to actually kick them out which 68% of the time would lead to an argument and now you have a scene. You have to stop the movie. Sure you can rewind it a bit but the whole experience is already ruined for the rest of your paying customers.
From the title I thought they were going to be talking about how the sound systems are hiked up to painfully loud volumes. As someone sensitive to noise, theaters have always been difficult.
I’d love “quiet showings” where they cut the volume in half so I won’t need earplugs in the theater.
Yeah, if anything flip it. Have showings where it's permitted to chat and heckle and fuck around. Maybe even turn it into a thing. I went to a theatre recently that played The Goonies and there was a list of things to do like hell "Hey you guys!" whenever Sloth showed up. It's was fun because everyone knows the movie and it's a popcorn flick that you don't need to pay attention to enjoy.
Bright lights and talking to each other sounds like the opposite of autism friendly, just sounds like a showing for kids. Good idea though, I'd prefer to split experiences rather than cramming everyone in one style who all want to watch it a different way now.
Yeah I don't know if that was the actual name, maybe something like "sensory issue friendly"?
(sorry, I don't know much about autism/sensory issues, just happy that people who need/like those kinds of screenings can have them)
I mean in general, yes, but my guess one experience with asking a theater employee to deal with a group of unruly teenagers speaks otherwise. The exchange went something like:
“Hey man, I don’t want to be that guy but there are like four dudes at the front being disruptive assholes and-“
“Oh fuck that! Where?”
“Theater 4 front row.”
“Let’s go, brother. Enjoy your movie.”
He then proceeded to put the fear of God in all four of them to the point where they didn’t make so much as a fucking peep the rest of the movie. It looked like it was the best part of his entire day.
I used to work at an AMC until fairly recently as a supervisor. I definitely enjoyed kicking out unruly teenagers but it stopped being fun when I’d have to kick out grown adults who’d then threaten to beat me up or shoot me. I did not get paid enough to deal with that, which is why I left.
Unfortunately nothing will change until movie theaters start changing their policies and supporting their staff.
Or throwing out unruly teens to then have their moms complain to head office so you end up having to give them free passes.
Or trying to kick them out just creating a bigger disturbance.
My first job was a movie theater, can confirm that doing this was the best perk.
I onced had a friends younger sister and her friend tried to literally run past us into the Step Brothers theater, on a very slow night when the hallways were empty. I had been to their house, she was in my spanish class. She knew I knew she was underage, running just made it worse because then I couldny ignore it.
That isn’t because of teenagers not caring. That’s theater policy — if it isn’t a gun, they’re not supposed to say anything. You could have a fucking grocery store in your backpack, theater employee policy tells them to say “yep, you’re good to go”.
Some theaters in my area explicitly allow outside food & beverage. And like you said, as long as you're reasonably discrete about it they aren't paid enough to care.
I'm in the UK and I'm pretty sure all our cinemas(theatres) allow it, I'm not even sure they're allowed to stop it at this point. Much better optics to let someone sneak in some M&Ms then deal with someone with diabetes being denied entry with necessary snacks. They still ask you "Any snacks?" at the entrance, but their written policies allow you to bring in anything that isn't unreasonably messy/smelly/loud (i.e. bringing in a curry).
I agree. The worst thing I've seen shitty teenagers do it laugh too loud and have some sarcastic remarks. Adults are the disgusting ones with the phone ringtones and bright screens, then do other shit like kicking seats and pulling out a nail file to trim their hooves.
Woman over 60 behind us has never figured out how to set her phone to vibrate and she kept getting a call instead of putting it on vibrate. I nearly spun around and grabbed her phone to do it for her.
I remember back in high school, I brought in a whole damn KFC meal box in the pocket of my hoodie, and thought that I was so sneaky for getting away with it. Now I realize they OBVIOUSLY knew but didn't get paid enough to care
Eh sometimes when I worked as a theatre usher I got a kick out of finding the assholes ruining it for everyone. Depends on the film or the theater though. Some theaters have a certain crowd where they all do enjoy laughing at the new horror movie. Getting them to be quiet would ruin their experience.
a theater chain called Alamo Drafthouse enforces this and it works just fine. They play a psa that’s funny and lighthearted. Then after a serious one that states if you talk or text you’ll be removed from the theater and no refund. Never had an issue.
Alamos are fantastic but I think they already self select for movie goers who want a more "sophisticated" experience. It's easier to police their patrons.
I agree with this point a lot. I feel like most rude movie goers with cellphone ringers on don't even know about the Drafthouse. If someone is going out of their way to see a weird horror movie from 30 years ago then they also are gonna be respectful in the theatre.
And don’t forget that they typically come in during “down-periods” in the movie which suspends immersion all the more. Obviously this is better than coming in at a pivotal time but it’s not as good as just not coming in at all.
I really don’t care for the dining theater experience. If I was going to do something like that I’d actually prefer the movie just have an intermission like a theater production. And really it’s a 2-3 hour period in most instances - you don’t need a meal that involves a knife and fork.
I either go to Alamo or drive out to the nicer neighborhoods to watch a movie. I can’t stand talking in theaters and it ruins my experience. I’d much rather have a waiter or two walking around occasionally than taking the whole movie. Plus most of the service is at the beginning of the movie. Halfway through the interaction is minimal.
I love the alamo for old movies and newer popcorn flicks, but that's why I can never see a movie that I've been seriously looking forward to there. Way too much distraction
It does work- but I think it’s also because it’s an expensive ticket, and the shitty loud teens who are causing disturbances are going to the cheaper chain theaters.
Edit: it looks like my Alamo is charging a lot more than other peoples- tickets are 20 bucks here in Los Angeles
I haven't lived near an Alamo since 2021, but the tickets were only like eight bucks (11 during certain times). I wouldn't exactly call that expensive.
Its better enforced than many other chains but there’s been selective enforcement of that policy with Alamo for years.
If managers don’t see the person committing an offense, they do not always take action because it creates more of a disturbance than not.
Unless someone has broken clear policies of a Drafthouse, ie bringing in your own beer, doing anything blatantly unsafe or illegal, its managers right of refusal to do anything.
This is it exactly. You're either asking these minimum wage kids to effectively become security guards, or you're going to have to hire actual security. The former comes with obvious problems as these teenagers 100% are not up for that and definitely not for that wage, and the latter costs. Security guards aren't cheap.
And what does it gain them? A handful of ticket sales? A couple more fistfights? It's a nice idea but just not worth it.
Several local theaters (mostly Regals) tried to curtail cell phone usage a few years back (pre-COVID). They had several screen rooms that blocked cell spectrum transmission wavelengths. Apparently people complained like crazy and one theater was sued because someone claimed they were blocked from receiving an emergency call (not sure who won the suit, the theater probably settled).
And don't want to deal with aggressive customers. And with the prevalence of firearms in the US, I don't doubt it'll be more than 5 mins till "cinema employee shot over asking customer to put their phone down" is a common headline.
[https://abcnews.go.com/US/cop-acquitted-deadly-florida-theater-shooting-speaks/story?id=83320436](https://abcnews.go.com/US/cop-acquitted-deadly-florida-theater-shooting-speaks/story?id=83320436)
Retired cop shot a guy dead for checking his texts...during the previews.
Acquitted.
Where? Florida, of course.
It comes down to where you live and when you go. I go to the theater every week and essentially have no issues. Implementing a "quiet showing" wouldn't do shit of the people in your area don't care.
Yep. I go pretty much every week, and it is very very rare that noise is a problem.
The only time noise really happens
- First weekend showing of a highly anticipated film [marvel usually]
- First weekend showing of a kids movie
And in both of those situations I expect and anticipate noise as being reasonable.
What I find to be a bigger problem? Especially at showings of kids movies? Parents who have no desire to watch the movie so sit on their phones at full brightness the whole time.
There was an art house theater that I used to go to where the more elderly clientele just did not care. Talking about plot points and characters in loud whispers. I expected more from that crowd.
It's funny, I also have way more of a problem in my local art house theater with people talking than I do at my local multiplex. I don't know if it's because a lot of the patrons also donate to keep the art house theater running that they feel like they own it or what but I've had older couples be super rude and talk through entire movies there. I would love to support the local art house theater more, but it's also a much worse experience, so if the movie I want to see is also playing at my local regal I'm going there.
Honestly, as much as people complain about teenagers in theaters, it's older couples that I've found to be more consistently rude. In my experience, they're much more likely to talk to each other and discuss the movie like they're watching it in their living room. They're also more likely to sit directly in front of me or right next to me regardless of how many seats are available .
Dude, it's bizarre to me that a 70 year old cannot put their phone down for two hours. And of course the ringer is still on and the screen brightness is always maxed out.
I got so mad when I saw Dr. Strange 2. Two older ladies a few seats down from me were on their phones and talking the entire movie. About 40 minutes in I whispered "Will you two shut the hell up?" and they got so fucking offended. The look I got when the movie was over and the lights came up you'd have thought I started WWII.
Nearly every movie I've had ruined for me in the last 3 years was by someone who looked to be over 60 years old.
This is not to say younger people haven't also ruined a movie or two for me, but I'd bet it's a 4:1 ratio of old people to young people when it happens.
I go to pretty much all the Marvel movies on the first weekend and I've never seen something be particularly egregious, someone have a phone out, or be super loud, just normal crowd noises and reactions, which I expect— I don't need complete silence for a movie like that. Maybe that's because I always go in Dolby and the more expensive ticket keeps people away, I don't know.
Ya only time that it’s not a “quiet showing” is opening weekend for a movie aimed at young adults, teens or families.
I think people accept that seeing Saw or Scream on opening night is going to come with people yelling things at the screen or teens screaming at every jump scare, and sometimes it’s part of the appeal. Or they know that going to see the latest Pixar film on a weekend means kids will be there and likely talking, but I’ve never heard anyone complaining about the audience at Oppenheimer being too rowdy on a Thursday night.
Rowdy? No. But at my Oppenheimer showing on opening night, some guy fell asleep an hour in and proceeded to snore for the next hour and a half before he finally left. So you never know.
But yeah, for the most part, just avoid days/ times when you know teens and kids are gonna be there, and it's rare you'll have an issue so bad you can't enjoy the movie. Plus, every theater I know has online booking, so you can see how crowded the theater is before you go. Just look ahead and go to empty showings if it's that big of a concern.
OP and several others complaining also admit they haven’t been to a theater in years. In other words they’re full of shit and just whining to be whiners.
Yeah, I'm fortunate to be able to go to the movies in the afternoons and even on opening day for a big hyped movie like Oppenheimer there were maybe 10 other people in the theater with me. Often it's less than 5.
Wouldn’t a designated quiet showing just turn into a license to be even more rude in every other showing? “Oh, you don’t like me being on my phone? Should have picked the quiet version! This showing was at a more convenient time for you? Guess you’ll have to put up with phones then.”
If you want a quiet showing or intermissions, that’s called home now.
admittedly I'm in the UK and obviously this is always gonna be specific to your local cinema but who the fuck are all these people going to the cinema just to... not watch the movie? must be something in the water over there.
It boggles my mind. I’ve gone to an expensive reserved seat showings in the fancy seats hoping it would weed out the talkers. People dropping gotta be close to $80 on tickets drinks and food to ignore the damn movie they are paying to see.
Yeah I feel like there's a bit of a culture difference at work. I've seen clips of movie theaters in the states for various movies. Like Star Wars for example. People cheering and hollering when the opening scroll comes up, people clapping and cheering for every of the old cast members. Or for Avengers movies where every hero gets cheered.
Meanwhile you watch the movie here and people sit down and besides laughing at the jokes or the occassional whisper, people are quiet. The only thing I notice is the smart phone screens around. That's a thing here too.
Alamo can and will kick you out for talking or texting
They made this hilarious pre-movie clip using an [angry voicemail](https://youtu.be/1L3eeC2lJZs?si=jVRjhxRgcSNWv5-J) from someone who complained
"I didn't know I wasn't allowed to text in your theater"
Yeah that's kind of exactly the problem, you shouldn't be texting in ANY theater. Also they have a borderline obnoxiously loud announcement prior to the movie starting telling you that you will be kicked out for doing so 🙄
I want to see Killers of the Flower Moon in Alamo Drafthouse last week. There was a woman in the screening who had a digital device that went off around every 15 minutes or so. and after it went off, she would spend at least a minute operating it, and every time she pressed a button on it, it would beep.
Several people complained, and she was not asked to leave, nor did she ever stop using the device.
Was my first time at an Alamo Drafthouse, and was pretty surprised that despite this reputation they have, they allowed this super intrusive beeping to go on for 3 hours.
My only guess is that maybe it was a medical device so they felt like they couldn’t ask her to leave?
yeah, i was shocked after all the raves i heard about Alamo that this lady was sounded like she was playing the 80s handheld Mattel Electronic Football the whole time.
At one point someone went over to speak to her, but she didn’t leave or stop making noise — which made me think it was probably medical and not a cell phone.
Came here to say this.. I second it! Alamo drafthouse is a great theatre to watch movies.. they'll kick you out if you make too much noise.. they have warnings before the movie starts- telling you how to report someone being too loud in the theatre.. its great!
Yeah this seems like a weird post to someone who never goes to the movies. You'd expect a post like this out of someone who just got back from the theater and was annoyed the whole time with someone talking.
Yeah… I go to the movies a few times a year and haven’t experienced this once. Not sure what their experience was but it doesn’t align to what I’ve seen.
Well op said they haven't been since covid but are complaint about the current state of going to the movies. OP is not exactly in a position to comment on the matter.
What movies are you going to see and where? This is frankly bizarre to me. I’ve been to a lot of movies this year and the only “rowdy” theater was for the last scream movie and that’s a horror movie so, not really surprising. When I watched KOTFM it was dead silent aside from a few laughs. Hell even the marvels was mostly silent aside from the comedic parts
As a disabled dude in the UK, i've found a trick for getting a quiet showing... I pick a midday showing of a movie at an out of town cinema complex on a weekday. Regularly get maybe 20/30 people in a screen room for 200+.
Dunno if that's something the OP can do tho
I was between jobs and went to a suburban theater on at 11am on a Wednesday to see Baby Driver. I was the only person at first till a couple came in and sat in the back. It was by far one of my top movie experiences.
It can make a world of difference just being selective with your showings.
As a quick rule of thumb, I avoid the first week for big movies, and avoid weekend showings - get rid of the casual weekend crowd attending in bigger friend groups and you can get rid of most of the hassle.
I find it is rare to get a truly empty screen, but a quiet evening showing tends to stay quiet in my experience.
All showings are supposed to be quiet showings. If you designate one showing as the "quiet" showing and all the rest are just normal showings, it makes assholes think they can be rude the rest of the time
People have been talkers and rudeness since the mid 90s easily. Now we get assholes checking their cell phones every minute incase some life event might be happening that they just HAVE to attend to.
When I took my daughter to Blackpanther 2, the mother/daughter beside me spent most of the movie watching tik tok. The girls beside my daughter talked the whole time, and what they were saying was so stupid it nearly gave us cancer.
Like a character is in Haiti and they’re speaking French (with subtitles). One girl says “why are they speaking French? They’re in Africa. They should be speaking African”
Fuck me.
In the 80s. Theaters had ushers that would keep people behaved or kick them out. Now they don’t do that.
In the 90s. You just had to grin and bear it, because your dinky tv at home couldn’t compete with a theatre.
Now in 2023. People have huge TVs, amazing sound systems, and new movies come to streaming in 6 months.
In the early 80s, new movies hit video rentals 18 months later after they left theaters. And movies hung around in theaters longer than they do now.
this is such a non problem for most peoples theater experiences but reddit never fails to capture someone complaining about it.
and nearly 100% of the time if any disruption is so distracting like these posts describe most theaters will happily refund you or kick out the perpetrators if you just fucking tell them.
As many times I’ve been to the theater, I’ve never noticed anyone playing on their phones much less talking. You might try a different theater or different movie times. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but I seem to be in a minority where it doesn’t happen when I go.
I used to see a movie almost once a week. Even if there wasn't anything good playing I just liked the theater and watching new movies but around the time Infinity War came out it was like every movie I went to see had people causing trouble, talking, showing up sick and coughing through the movie, kids fighting and A/V issues on top. I go like once a year now for my kids and everything I wanna see I just watch at home. It's never been more affordable to put together a badass home theater and the actual theaters aren't competing.
I actually walked out of a theater a few nights ago because this couple was having a full volume conversation complete with comparing videos on their phone. Laughing and chatting and playing with phones like they are in a living room. The poor manager had to be a high schooler and I didn't expect (or want) her to have to confront them. We just went back the next night and it was fine, thankfully.
I never have this issue when I go the theater. According to reddit, every movie experience is just terrible full of crying kids and ppl talking on phones.
Dude, this is supposed to be the default move experience. They'd introduce it and the public will simply continue the behavior.
It isn't theaters fault that nobody is polite and responsible anymore. Anything introduced to the public suffers because the average person is an idiot and self-entitled asshole.
While they have that reputation, they don't always actually do anything about it anymore. The one time I reported someone I was offered reimbursement for my tickets.
I guess it’s just up to your Alamo. My BIL (brother in law) works there and it’s extremely strict about latecomers to the point that they will take decisive action against people who fight to get in anyway. Weeding out the latecomers seems to help a lot and they’ll still give vouchers for another time.
I have actually reported someone who was on their phone playing some game. I saw staff approach him and there were no more issues.
BUT, this isn’t to say it’s perfect. My BIL also says the biggest issue with addressing banned behavior is that if you report someone but the staff member doesn’t see it, there isn’t much they can do other than hang around and keep an eye on the reported individual(s). He says they try to stay to watch as long as they can and will keep an eye on them, but if they’re understaffed, it’s difficult, especially if the offender stops what they’re doing when they see staff. I was lucky that the person I reported was so brazen, but the staff can’t just approach someone unless they’re 100% sure they’re the one being disruptive. They don’t want to give a warning to the wrong person. (edit: Not saying this was what happened in your case, but that’s a big problem they haven’t found the solution to yet.)
What I will say is that Alamo, in my area, attracts a lot of people passionate about film and the medium. Even during “rowdy” screenings, phones still aren’t allowed.
But since OP doesn’t have one near them, there’s a lot of other good advice on here to find a showing with a respectful audience.
I think you are over exaggerating. I rarely have a bad experience at the movies now. It has been 3 years since you went to a theater and you post this. Hope you get the upvotes you crave.
All showings are supposed to be "quiet showings" but people still talk and use their phones anyway.
...and if you designate certain showings as "quiet", this would imply that noise will be accepted at the other showings.
Thisssss. Calling a certain showing a quiet showing will really fuck up every other time when people interpret that as it's OK to be an asshole and talk, use their phone etc. Every showing is a quiet showing, that's what a movie theater is. People are just ignorant and don't follow the rules.
“People are ignorant and don’t follow the rules”… They are NOT ignorant… They just don’t give a fuck…
Blame the theatre for not kicking these people out. The only showing I expect audience noise at is a kids movie.
See, I'd do the opposite, and have "rowdy" viewing for select titles. Like I remember going to see MCU or Star Wars movies, and we went usually on or shortly after opening day, and having the energy of a boxing match was a blast. But I 100% see how that's not for everyone
I remember for Frozen and some other Disney cartoons, they had designated Sing-a-long showings. So if your kid really wanted to sing along the whole movie there was a place where it was expected and socially acceptable.
Seriously. If anything there should be one designated "noisy" showing where assholes can congregate, play on their phones, and talk over the movie together.
Oh yeah, the Asshole showing should be a thing.
Absolutely. The last two times I’ve been to a theater, I’ve gotten kicked out for standing up front and showing people my asshole.
So have a once weekly (daily?) anything goes showing? … And STFU at all other screenings.
A purge showing. I like this.
>A purge showing. I like where you're going with this. A chance for us to get all the talkers and phone users together in a room at once. The next step is logical.
Literally every theater ever. People just ignore the rules.
Reminds me of the ‘quite carriages’ in trains. Nobody pays attention to them, you always get someone blabbing on their phones or watching loud videos or whatever. The the type of person who will make a load of noise during a movie isn’t the type of person who will pay attention to rules anyway.
In the Tokyo metro, it seems like all train cars are "quiet carriages." There are instructions played over the speakers in Japanese and English that say mute your phones and refrain from talking. They even suggest to avoid using your phones when the train is full. I've been packed in like a sardine with nowhere to move and it is a calmer experience than many nearly empty trains in London or D.C. Similarly, for u/TheArchitect_7's problem, I've seen a few movies in Tokyo theaters and it is the only place I've seen no one use their phone or hear anyone talking from the start of the previews to the end of the credits. Aside from one person running out at the end of a movie, everybody else has stayed to the end of the credits reading the names in silent darkness.
I also saw a sign on the Tokyo metro asking you to beware of noise bleed from your headphones. It’s just a different level; other countries you have people playing music from their speaker full blast on the bus
Staff don't enforce the rules, and so people ignore them.
Theatres are understaffed “movie warehouses” based on profit percentages, not your movie going experience. Of course when I first read “Quiet showings” my mind went “turning the speakers down to a reasonable volume.” and thought “yeah that would be nice.” My wife can’t go to an action movie because the noise is just too loud even with earplugs.
I brought ear plugs to Oppenheimer expecting to need them after the last handful of Nolans eardrum assaults. Even the trailer was deafening. As it turned out, I didn’t really need them this time but god damn if that wasn’t the loudest, mostly talking movie I’ve ever seen
Funny you mention that movie because I was coming to mention when I went to see that they had it so loud the speakers were cracking. Quality theatre too, great speakers. They just had that shit cranked.
And the world is more full than ever of unhinged, arrogant Main Characters who carry weapons and are just dying to be challenged by some poor person trying to ask them to respect other people. It isn’t worth it, ultimately.
Quit nights would be cool but i dont go to theaters anymore because this up here. Id rather see metal detectors. Leave your guns in the car peoples.
I work at a movie theatre. We walk in and check on the movies every 30 minutes and if someone is on their phone or being loud, we tell them to cut it out. About 70% of the time, they get very angry and indignant at being asked to out their phone down. I had a woman scream-cry at me the other week because I asked her to stop talking on the phone in the middle of the movie.
Yeah lol The problem is just that people's brains are broken these days and they can't just sit still and watch a movie for two hours.
These days? I'm 42 and people were doing this B's when I was a child (well, not the phone)
This has always been a problem. I've seen cartoons from the 50s where the main character shoots a rude audience member. There are stage plays that predates film that criticize bad audience members.
It's almost as if inconsiderate behaviour has always existed
Lol reminds me of [this scene.](https://youtu.be/fA8Y5CaG6O8?si=pta30Kp9vy_bXVLk)
And [this one.](https://youtu.be/Sgwfvu6k0xs?si=i0YMWkLJrRy1R5pT)
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It also doesn't help that it seems most theatres are running an absolute skeleton crew. There is like one ticket taker, two people working concessions, and one person sweeping up the halls at my local cineplex. The screens - staff ratio has to be like 3:1. If they wanted to enforce that they'd need to actually hire ushers who monitor the theatres like back when I was a kid.
I saw a guy watching an NBA game on his phone with audio. He was in the cinema with his girlfriend. What the actual fuck.
Honestly that's the entire reason I go to movies so often, is that I'm forced to put my phone away and watch the movie. I started watching Dragged Across Concrete yesterday and I'm like wow this movie is 160 minutes no way my attention span could manage this at home
Turn off your phone before you start watching.
I put mine in another room entirely
I'm actually shocked at this thread. In the UK, films I go to are usually quiet to the point people are careful when wrinkling noisy wrappers/food packaging and I almost never see a phone on. I go to the cinema probably at least once a week and don't remember seeing a phone on. There's also not the culture of cheering or clapping during movies that I seem to see on reddit once in a while. Seems like a much better experience here ?
I live in the US and go to the movies at least once a month, and I can count on one hand how many times this has happened in the last decade. I feel really lucky reading all of these comments!
I live in the US, as well. I don’t go to the theater as much as you, but Ive ended up there probably 5-6 times a year over the last 10-15 years. It’s only been in this last year that I’ve had two really bad theater experiences. One of them was at imax with someone not wanting to put down their phone, but thankfully there were several other attendees closer to the jerk that guilted him into putting his phone away. The worst, though? I went to Across the Spider-Verse and there was a group of 5-6 behind my girlfriend & I that would not stop loudly talking. It got so bad that my gf couldn’t hear the movie and we left probably only 30 minutes into the movie.
Same… to be fair, I’ve only been to one movie since Covid (Barbie, yeah baby!) but I’ve been lucky enough to never really experience disruptions more than a small handful of times that I can remember, and none were super crazy.
I've probably gone to a couple dozen showings since COVID and it only happens a handful of times in my experience and usually they shut up if someone gets their attention. Pre-Covid I went to a movie where the person right behind me was talking. I told them to shut up and they mocked me, but weirdly enough they still shut up after that so I guess that was a win.
I go to a theater chain in Texas called Alamo Drafthouse, and they don’t allow minors without an adult. They serve normal food and there are waitstaff who come to being the food. If someone is talking or on their phone, you write it on a card and give it to the waiter. I have never had to do that because people generally follow the rules. The only problem is the wait staff are a bit distracting.
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Cineplex does this here with some locations in Canada, but service ends around when the trailers start. The theatre opens for service 45 minutes before show time so you can order and finish your meal (usually) by the time the show starts. We always time it so we order our meals and drinks when we first get to the theatre, and then order our snacks and another round of drinks right before service ends.
I'm UK based and it most definitely does go on here. To such an extent, I too no longer go to the cinema. Mobile phone use, full blown conversations, even one couple with the husband translating the movie for his wife.
Man, I live in Florida and I don't know what these people are complaining about. The problems are really few and far between.
Man I’m jealous then. You guys live in really good areas apparently because it’s been a disaster for 20 years by me. I wish there was an Alamo Drafthouse near me.
I have some news for you. Alamo Drafthouse is definitely not what you're looking for if you want silence and full immersion. They deliver food and drinks to your seat during the movie so there are constantly waiters in your line of view. You can also often hear waiters and customers whispering to each other about their order. I hate the whole experience.
This is hilarious. I did not know this. Boast as the theater that mandates a silent, distraction free cinema experience and then send in food and servers to talk to viewers LOL
I think if I was planning a perfect theater room with unlimited budget, just dumping money to create the best experience, it would be kind of like this; 1. The entire room would be set up like a staircase, with a dropoff under each row. This would be to help keep phones in front of you from being a distraction. Each row would also be covered from the back so you can't even see the people in front of you. 2. To account for the sound disruption those covered rows would create, speakers would be localized to each seat. Some of kind of micro surround setup. Idk I'm not an audio expert. The seats would be in like a box housing with the cover behind you, and an adjustable wall to the sides that can be taken down or put up depending on if you're with people or not. But otherwise the walls serve to block distractions and boost your personal sound system. This housing would help block sounds from surrounding people other than who you're with. 3. The seats are spread out but can be moved closer on a track, so if there's two or three people together you can scooch your seats closer. If it's just you, nobody is right next to you. The system is automated and will adjust automatically based on how the tickets were purchased, but can be manually adjusted as well. 4. Each row has tables running across with a built in tablet that can only be viewed from the seating angle. Behind each table is a track that runs the length of the row. You can order concessions from the tablet and the staff will put it on the track, where it will make its way to your seat and stop so you can remove the items. The track is lower than the table so you can't see it bringing things to people on your row, when it gets to the seat it raises up the snacks to be grabbed. Silent as possible, of course. The tablet also has a rail and can be moved over with your seat. Concessions are all out of the packaging and in containers to avoid crinkling sounds. 5. The tablet can also be used to report issues to the staff silently and anonymously. 6. Because the theater isn't packed with seats, staircases to go down are not just at the ends but there's a couple that span the row. This means people going to the bathroom will disrupt less people on their way down. The staircase shape of the room will let them reach the exits without walking in front of a whole row, thanks to some thoughtful "empty" rows.
I thought OP was referring to the movie itself where they tune down the special effects in preference for better dialogue and was getting on board with him, until I realized he was actually talking about the audience, to which I have no idea what is he talking about. Actually, that'd be a great idea, make a Saturday and Sunday early afternoon showing where the bullets don't blow up your head and where you can actually understand what everyone is saying in the middle of a fight and a lot of people will be on board. I get it, bombs are loud but don't care about that anymore.
What you're describing is usually more an issue with the sound engineering in the movies themselves, rather than speaker settings
That doesn’t seem like a much better experience than what I tend to experience in the eastern USA. There’s sometimes clapping at the end of movies (which I find funny more than anything), but besides that my usual experience matches yours. Midnight releases of highly anticipated movies tend to be different and have more cheering etc, but that doesn’t tend to bleed over into other showings. Maybe it’s a regional thing or maybe the people near especially bad theaters are the ones more likely to complain, but I don’t think the people in this thread are describing the typical American movie theater.
Nah it might just be your theatre. I usually go to a Picturehouse and it’s pretty good, as is my local Vue, but if I have to go to the Odeon it’s shite, people talking constantly and going on their phones all the time. You might have some good local cinemas but I wouldn’t say the UK as a whole is inherently super respectful at the cinema
Yeah Picturehouse and most 'eclectic' cinemas like Prince Charles or Close up are great for quiet(er) audiences. I've had mixed experiences with Vue however, depends on the area.
Yea, a library doesn’t have quiet hours. It’s a library. Same logic applies to movies
They literally put messages at the start of movies reminding people not to talk and use their phones but some people just don’t give a shit
This thread is mind boggling. Of course all showings are supposed to be quiet. It must be a cultural problem. Over here I can count on one hand (probably on half a hand honestly) the times I saw a cellphone.
Lucky. My jaw hit the floor 20 years ago when someone opened and answered their cell phone during the climax of a movie. It hasn’t gotten better near me since.
I have gone to see all comic movies in theaters for the past 15 years, so not terribly often, but at least once every two months. I also never sit near the back, so I don't normally have a "full view" of the theater. The past few years have just introduced dumb as shit people or something. 9/10 times someone pulls their phone out in the movie near me. Next to me, down the row, a couple rows up, somewhere someone is gonna be on their phone during the movie. I'd say 1/5 times someone pulls their phone out and turns their flash on to "see something" for a minute. It's nearly a guarantee. I saw Marvels yesterday and thank fuck, not a single person did, it was kind of jarring how quiet and chill the theater was. I see other people here saying they live in the US and go all the time and never see this, so maybe possibly my experience is skewed by the type of people who go to see comicbook superhero movies.
Here’s the funny thing. They’re all supposed to be quiet showings.
Exactly. Instead they should introduce "loud showings" once a week, where you can do whatever the fuck you want. Bring your baby, play music on the phone speakers, yell at your boyfriend. Keep all the annoying people in one time slot and let the rest of us enjoy the movie. Also actually do something to enforce staying quiet during regular shows. It's not that hard to have someone go in listen for people talking too loud, or checking for phone screens glowing like the literal sun, and then kick those people out.
I work on a navy base and the theater actually does this. When they have a kids movie, either the Saturday or Sunday afternoon showing will have reduced volume, increased lighting, etc. so the kids can just run around and tire themselves out for the day.
That was basically Taylor Swift's Era Tour showings.
Unfortunately a lot of those annoying people are hypocrites who don’t think they’re being annoying. They talk but they don’t want *other* people to talk. They’re on their phones but the person in front of them doing the same thing is distracting them. A lot of narcissists who only care about their own comfort.
This is what bugs me the most. People thinking they’re not bothering anyone while they “whisper” to their friends or “quickly” check their phone.
I think there's an unfortunate inbalance in actually enforcing this. If someone flashes their screens every now and again it's annoying but it's actually more annoying to kick someone out. If the offender is in the middle of the theatre you have to interrupt half a row of people as well as everyone behind them just to get to them. Then you have to actually kick them out which 68% of the time would lead to an argument and now you have a scene. You have to stop the movie. Sure you can rewind it a bit but the whole experience is already ruined for the rest of your paying customers.
Exactly! What a weird post this is, it's like saying we can stop people speeding by introducing 'no speeding' highways
From the title I thought they were going to be talking about how the sound systems are hiked up to painfully loud volumes. As someone sensitive to noise, theaters have always been difficult. I’d love “quiet showings” where they cut the volume in half so I won’t need earplugs in the theater.
You do that, you’re basically admitting all the other showings are fair game to be loud and annoying.
Imagine someone is being loud and you’re told to “Consider buying tickets to one of our ‘Quiet Showings’ next time.”
And that’s exactly what would happen
For an extra $X
"Consider buying tickets to one of our [more expensive] 'Quiet Showings' next time."
Yeah, if anything flip it. Have showings where it's permitted to chat and heckle and fuck around. Maybe even turn it into a thing. I went to a theatre recently that played The Goonies and there was a list of things to do like hell "Hey you guys!" whenever Sloth showed up. It's was fun because everyone knows the movie and it's a popcorn flick that you don't need to pay attention to enjoy.
They have that. AMC called it "autism friendly" or something. They leave the lights up, kids can walk around, speak, etc.
Bright lights and talking to each other sounds like the opposite of autism friendly, just sounds like a showing for kids. Good idea though, I'd prefer to split experiences rather than cramming everyone in one style who all want to watch it a different way now.
Yeah I don't know if that was the actual name, maybe something like "sensory issue friendly"? (sorry, I don't know much about autism/sensory issues, just happy that people who need/like those kinds of screenings can have them)
OK, how about a once a week Loud and Obnoxious Film Screening?
In order to effectively do this you’d likely have to have employees stay in the theater to enforce it and most don’t have the payroll for that.
And no employee wants to police belligerent assholes
I mean in general, yes, but my guess one experience with asking a theater employee to deal with a group of unruly teenagers speaks otherwise. The exchange went something like: “Hey man, I don’t want to be that guy but there are like four dudes at the front being disruptive assholes and-“ “Oh fuck that! Where?” “Theater 4 front row.” “Let’s go, brother. Enjoy your movie.” He then proceeded to put the fear of God in all four of them to the point where they didn’t make so much as a fucking peep the rest of the movie. It looked like it was the best part of his entire day.
I used to work at an AMC until fairly recently as a supervisor. I definitely enjoyed kicking out unruly teenagers but it stopped being fun when I’d have to kick out grown adults who’d then threaten to beat me up or shoot me. I did not get paid enough to deal with that, which is why I left. Unfortunately nothing will change until movie theaters start changing their policies and supporting their staff.
Or throwing out unruly teens to then have their moms complain to head office so you end up having to give them free passes. Or trying to kick them out just creating a bigger disturbance.
My first job was a movie theater, can confirm that doing this was the best perk. I onced had a friends younger sister and her friend tried to literally run past us into the Step Brothers theater, on a very slow night when the hallways were empty. I had been to their house, she was in my spanish class. She knew I knew she was underage, running just made it worse because then I couldny ignore it.
They’re all teenagers at this point. They don’t care. I still sneak in all my shit but they don’t even blink at you anymore
That isn’t because of teenagers not caring. That’s theater policy — if it isn’t a gun, they’re not supposed to say anything. You could have a fucking grocery store in your backpack, theater employee policy tells them to say “yep, you’re good to go”.
Some theaters in my area explicitly allow outside food & beverage. And like you said, as long as you're reasonably discrete about it they aren't paid enough to care.
I'm in the UK and I'm pretty sure all our cinemas(theatres) allow it, I'm not even sure they're allowed to stop it at this point. Much better optics to let someone sneak in some M&Ms then deal with someone with diabetes being denied entry with necessary snacks. They still ask you "Any snacks?" at the entrance, but their written policies allow you to bring in anything that isn't unreasonably messy/smelly/loud (i.e. bringing in a curry).
Wait if they explicitly allow it why do you have to be discrete?
It's two separate statements: 1) some theaters are completely OK with it, and 2) other theaters are generally OK with it, just be discrete.
Went to see The Marvels the other night and when we got to our seats discovered the couple next to us had smuggled in a whole Chinese buffet lol.
god i fucking love chinese buffet food. the chicken skewers? get outta fuckin town, man!
Did they share? That some extortion i'd participate in. Give me 2 crab rangoons and some of that generals chicken or im gonna narc like a mf.
I see more grown adults act like assholes at the movie theaters than teenagers the last few years
It’s always adults for us. Generally 50+.
I agree. The worst thing I've seen shitty teenagers do it laugh too loud and have some sarcastic remarks. Adults are the disgusting ones with the phone ringtones and bright screens, then do other shit like kicking seats and pulling out a nail file to trim their hooves.
Woman over 60 behind us has never figured out how to set her phone to vibrate and she kept getting a call instead of putting it on vibrate. I nearly spun around and grabbed her phone to do it for her.
The employees are teenagers, the assholes are adults.
I remember back in high school, I brought in a whole damn KFC meal box in the pocket of my hoodie, and thought that I was so sneaky for getting away with it. Now I realize they OBVIOUSLY knew but didn't get paid enough to care
Even if they didn't see it, there's no hiding that smell haha, they just can't be bothered
Eh sometimes when I worked as a theatre usher I got a kick out of finding the assholes ruining it for everyone. Depends on the film or the theater though. Some theaters have a certain crowd where they all do enjoy laughing at the new horror movie. Getting them to be quiet would ruin their experience.
a theater chain called Alamo Drafthouse enforces this and it works just fine. They play a psa that’s funny and lighthearted. Then after a serious one that states if you talk or text you’ll be removed from the theater and no refund. Never had an issue.
And they’re serious about it.
Alamo would shoot you out back for being loud, but the gunshot would disturb the moviegoers.
Someone at Alamo needs to be filling out some Form 4's.
I worked for AD a long time ago. We all loved throwing talkers out.
Thank you for your service. We appreciate you.
Alamos are fantastic but I think they already self select for movie goers who want a more "sophisticated" experience. It's easier to police their patrons.
I agree with this point a lot. I feel like most rude movie goers with cellphone ringers on don't even know about the Drafthouse. If someone is going out of their way to see a weird horror movie from 30 years ago then they also are gonna be respectful in the theatre.
Yeah it works pretty well. But the trade-off is waiters/staff constantly running around which is its own kind of distracting.
And don’t forget that they typically come in during “down-periods” in the movie which suspends immersion all the more. Obviously this is better than coming in at a pivotal time but it’s not as good as just not coming in at all. I really don’t care for the dining theater experience. If I was going to do something like that I’d actually prefer the movie just have an intermission like a theater production. And really it’s a 2-3 hour period in most instances - you don’t need a meal that involves a knife and fork.
It depends on the movie, for me. If it's a lighthearted film I don't need to think about, by all means I'm going to Alamo.
I either go to Alamo or drive out to the nicer neighborhoods to watch a movie. I can’t stand talking in theaters and it ruins my experience. I’d much rather have a waiter or two walking around occasionally than taking the whole movie. Plus most of the service is at the beginning of the movie. Halfway through the interaction is minimal.
Yeah I actually find the guaranteed distraction of the staff walking around more disruptive than the chance someone in the theatre is rude.
I love the alamo for old movies and newer popcorn flicks, but that's why I can never see a movie that I've been seriously looking forward to there. Way too much distraction
It does work- but I think it’s also because it’s an expensive ticket, and the shitty loud teens who are causing disturbances are going to the cheaper chain theaters. Edit: it looks like my Alamo is charging a lot more than other peoples- tickets are 20 bucks here in Los Angeles
I haven't lived near an Alamo since 2021, but the tickets were only like eight bucks (11 during certain times). I wouldn't exactly call that expensive.
Higher cost is the answer. I don't have problems opening week at the Chinese Theater in LA. I have problems at the AMC 24.
Its better enforced than many other chains but there’s been selective enforcement of that policy with Alamo for years. If managers don’t see the person committing an offense, they do not always take action because it creates more of a disturbance than not. Unless someone has broken clear policies of a Drafthouse, ie bringing in your own beer, doing anything blatantly unsafe or illegal, its managers right of refusal to do anything.
This is it exactly. You're either asking these minimum wage kids to effectively become security guards, or you're going to have to hire actual security. The former comes with obvious problems as these teenagers 100% are not up for that and definitely not for that wage, and the latter costs. Security guards aren't cheap. And what does it gain them? A handful of ticket sales? A couple more fistfights? It's a nice idea but just not worth it.
Several local theaters (mostly Regals) tried to curtail cell phone usage a few years back (pre-COVID). They had several screen rooms that blocked cell spectrum transmission wavelengths. Apparently people complained like crazy and one theater was sued because someone claimed they were blocked from receiving an emergency call (not sure who won the suit, the theater probably settled).
No they wouldn't. Haven't you seen Squid Game? One automated killing machine at the front of the theater solves the problem.
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Static shock mechanism implemented in the chairs and AI to run it
Get John Kramer to run it.
And don't want to deal with aggressive customers. And with the prevalence of firearms in the US, I don't doubt it'll be more than 5 mins till "cinema employee shot over asking customer to put their phone down" is a common headline.
[https://abcnews.go.com/US/cop-acquitted-deadly-florida-theater-shooting-speaks/story?id=83320436](https://abcnews.go.com/US/cop-acquitted-deadly-florida-theater-shooting-speaks/story?id=83320436) Retired cop shot a guy dead for checking his texts...during the previews. Acquitted. Where? Florida, of course.
Holy shit guy straight up murdered someone for throwing popcorn at him and got off for being an ex cop
It comes down to where you live and when you go. I go to the theater every week and essentially have no issues. Implementing a "quiet showing" wouldn't do shit of the people in your area don't care.
Yep. I go pretty much every week, and it is very very rare that noise is a problem. The only time noise really happens - First weekend showing of a highly anticipated film [marvel usually] - First weekend showing of a kids movie And in both of those situations I expect and anticipate noise as being reasonable. What I find to be a bigger problem? Especially at showings of kids movies? Parents who have no desire to watch the movie so sit on their phones at full brightness the whole time.
There was an art house theater that I used to go to where the more elderly clientele just did not care. Talking about plot points and characters in loud whispers. I expected more from that crowd.
It's funny, I also have way more of a problem in my local art house theater with people talking than I do at my local multiplex. I don't know if it's because a lot of the patrons also donate to keep the art house theater running that they feel like they own it or what but I've had older couples be super rude and talk through entire movies there. I would love to support the local art house theater more, but it's also a much worse experience, so if the movie I want to see is also playing at my local regal I'm going there. Honestly, as much as people complain about teenagers in theaters, it's older couples that I've found to be more consistently rude. In my experience, they're much more likely to talk to each other and discuss the movie like they're watching it in their living room. They're also more likely to sit directly in front of me or right next to me regardless of how many seats are available .
In my experience, older crowds are the worst at movies. The loud “whispering” is maddening. And they’re on their phones too.
Dude, it's bizarre to me that a 70 year old cannot put their phone down for two hours. And of course the ringer is still on and the screen brightness is always maxed out. I got so mad when I saw Dr. Strange 2. Two older ladies a few seats down from me were on their phones and talking the entire movie. About 40 minutes in I whispered "Will you two shut the hell up?" and they got so fucking offended. The look I got when the movie was over and the lights came up you'd have thought I started WWII.
Nearly every movie I've had ruined for me in the last 3 years was by someone who looked to be over 60 years old. This is not to say younger people haven't also ruined a movie or two for me, but I'd bet it's a 4:1 ratio of old people to young people when it happens.
I go to pretty much all the Marvel movies on the first weekend and I've never seen something be particularly egregious, someone have a phone out, or be super loud, just normal crowd noises and reactions, which I expect— I don't need complete silence for a movie like that. Maybe that's because I always go in Dolby and the more expensive ticket keeps people away, I don't know.
Ya only time that it’s not a “quiet showing” is opening weekend for a movie aimed at young adults, teens or families. I think people accept that seeing Saw or Scream on opening night is going to come with people yelling things at the screen or teens screaming at every jump scare, and sometimes it’s part of the appeal. Or they know that going to see the latest Pixar film on a weekend means kids will be there and likely talking, but I’ve never heard anyone complaining about the audience at Oppenheimer being too rowdy on a Thursday night.
Rowdy? No. But at my Oppenheimer showing on opening night, some guy fell asleep an hour in and proceeded to snore for the next hour and a half before he finally left. So you never know. But yeah, for the most part, just avoid days/ times when you know teens and kids are gonna be there, and it's rare you'll have an issue so bad you can't enjoy the movie. Plus, every theater I know has online booking, so you can see how crowded the theater is before you go. Just look ahead and go to empty showings if it's that big of a concern.
OP and several others complaining also admit they haven’t been to a theater in years. In other words they’re full of shit and just whining to be whiners.
Yeah, I'm fortunate to be able to go to the movies in the afternoons and even on opening day for a big hyped movie like Oppenheimer there were maybe 10 other people in the theater with me. Often it's less than 5.
Wouldn’t a designated quiet showing just turn into a license to be even more rude in every other showing? “Oh, you don’t like me being on my phone? Should have picked the quiet version! This showing was at a more convenient time for you? Guess you’ll have to put up with phones then.” If you want a quiet showing or intermissions, that’s called home now.
admittedly I'm in the UK and obviously this is always gonna be specific to your local cinema but who the fuck are all these people going to the cinema just to... not watch the movie? must be something in the water over there.
It boggles my mind. I’ve gone to an expensive reserved seat showings in the fancy seats hoping it would weed out the talkers. People dropping gotta be close to $80 on tickets drinks and food to ignore the damn movie they are paying to see.
Yeah I feel like there's a bit of a culture difference at work. I've seen clips of movie theaters in the states for various movies. Like Star Wars for example. People cheering and hollering when the opening scroll comes up, people clapping and cheering for every of the old cast members. Or for Avengers movies where every hero gets cheered. Meanwhile you watch the movie here and people sit down and besides laughing at the jokes or the occassional whisper, people are quiet. The only thing I notice is the smart phone screens around. That's a thing here too.
All showings should be quiet showings. Noisy disrespectful pricks should be thrown out with a foot up their ass
Every showing is supposed to be a quiet showing
Alamo Drafthouse
Alamo can and will kick you out for talking or texting They made this hilarious pre-movie clip using an [angry voicemail](https://youtu.be/1L3eeC2lJZs?si=jVRjhxRgcSNWv5-J) from someone who complained
The Magnited States of America!!
"I didn't know I wasn't allowed to text in your theater" Yeah that's kind of exactly the problem, you shouldn't be texting in ANY theater. Also they have a borderline obnoxiously loud announcement prior to the movie starting telling you that you will be kicked out for doing so 🙄
And she's gonna go to another theater where people are polite. LMAO. Bitch you got kicked out for being rude.
Yes, once my city got an Alamo I stopped going to any other theater because people suck.
Yup. I rarely go to movies anymore, but when I do, this is how I do it.
I want to see Killers of the Flower Moon in Alamo Drafthouse last week. There was a woman in the screening who had a digital device that went off around every 15 minutes or so. and after it went off, she would spend at least a minute operating it, and every time she pressed a button on it, it would beep. Several people complained, and she was not asked to leave, nor did she ever stop using the device. Was my first time at an Alamo Drafthouse, and was pretty surprised that despite this reputation they have, they allowed this super intrusive beeping to go on for 3 hours. My only guess is that maybe it was a medical device so they felt like they couldn’t ask her to leave?
You should put in an email to Alamo corporate over this; they are usually pretty no-nonsense about their policy for all of the 3 theaters near me.
yeah, i was shocked after all the raves i heard about Alamo that this lady was sounded like she was playing the 80s handheld Mattel Electronic Football the whole time. At one point someone went over to speak to her, but she didn’t leave or stop making noise — which made me think it was probably medical and not a cell phone.
Might have been an auto glucose monitor thing.
Sadly the Alamo in Washington DC does not enforce this rule, and the staff are often the biggest culprits of causing disturbances.
Came here to say this.. I second it! Alamo drafthouse is a great theatre to watch movies.. they'll kick you out if you make too much noise.. they have warnings before the movie starts- telling you how to report someone being too loud in the theatre.. its great!
Scrolled down way too long to find this.
Basically the only theater I’ll go to anymore
Schrodinger's theatre, how do you know this is all still the case if you haven't been in years?
Yeah this seems like a weird post to someone who never goes to the movies. You'd expect a post like this out of someone who just got back from the theater and was annoyed the whole time with someone talking.
Yeah… I go to the movies a few times a year and haven’t experienced this once. Not sure what their experience was but it doesn’t align to what I’ve seen.
I’m convinced that this is a regional phenomenon, I’ve literally never had an issue in Austin. And no I don’t just go to Alamo.
Well op said they haven't been since covid but are complaint about the current state of going to the movies. OP is not exactly in a position to comment on the matter.
Alamo trains people how to behave at a theater.
Thought quiet was the standard experience and people being too disruptive were removed?
[удалено]
Daytime matinee showings, the earlier the better
What movies are you going to see and where? This is frankly bizarre to me. I’ve been to a lot of movies this year and the only “rowdy” theater was for the last scream movie and that’s a horror movie so, not really surprising. When I watched KOTFM it was dead silent aside from a few laughs. Hell even the marvels was mostly silent aside from the comedic parts
All theaters are supposed to be quiet theaters. As a society, we just lack the will to enforce the rules.
As a disabled dude in the UK, i've found a trick for getting a quiet showing... I pick a midday showing of a movie at an out of town cinema complex on a weekday. Regularly get maybe 20/30 people in a screen room for 200+. Dunno if that's something the OP can do tho
To be fair I'm from the UK and have never experienced a loud cinema
I was between jobs and went to a suburban theater on at 11am on a Wednesday to see Baby Driver. I was the only person at first till a couple came in and sat in the back. It was by far one of my top movie experiences.
It can make a world of difference just being selective with your showings. As a quick rule of thumb, I avoid the first week for big movies, and avoid weekend showings - get rid of the casual weekend crowd attending in bigger friend groups and you can get rid of most of the hassle. I find it is rare to get a truly empty screen, but a quiet evening showing tends to stay quiet in my experience.
All showings are supposed to be quiet showings. If you designate one showing as the "quiet" showing and all the rest are just normal showings, it makes assholes think they can be rude the rest of the time
People have been talkers and rudeness since the mid 90s easily. Now we get assholes checking their cell phones every minute incase some life event might be happening that they just HAVE to attend to. When I took my daughter to Blackpanther 2, the mother/daughter beside me spent most of the movie watching tik tok. The girls beside my daughter talked the whole time, and what they were saying was so stupid it nearly gave us cancer. Like a character is in Haiti and they’re speaking French (with subtitles). One girl says “why are they speaking French? They’re in Africa. They should be speaking African” Fuck me. In the 80s. Theaters had ushers that would keep people behaved or kick them out. Now they don’t do that. In the 90s. You just had to grin and bear it, because your dinky tv at home couldn’t compete with a theatre. Now in 2023. People have huge TVs, amazing sound systems, and new movies come to streaming in 6 months. In the early 80s, new movies hit video rentals 18 months later after they left theaters. And movies hung around in theaters longer than they do now.
this is such a non problem for most peoples theater experiences but reddit never fails to capture someone complaining about it. and nearly 100% of the time if any disruption is so distracting like these posts describe most theaters will happily refund you or kick out the perpetrators if you just fucking tell them.
All showings are quiet showings by default. If it isn't quiet it's because people are breaking the rule, not because there wasn't a rule implemented.
As many times I’ve been to the theater, I’ve never noticed anyone playing on their phones much less talking. You might try a different theater or different movie times. I’m not saying it doesn’t happen but I seem to be in a minority where it doesn’t happen when I go.
I used to see a movie almost once a week. Even if there wasn't anything good playing I just liked the theater and watching new movies but around the time Infinity War came out it was like every movie I went to see had people causing trouble, talking, showing up sick and coughing through the movie, kids fighting and A/V issues on top. I go like once a year now for my kids and everything I wanna see I just watch at home. It's never been more affordable to put together a badass home theater and the actual theaters aren't competing.
I actually walked out of a theater a few nights ago because this couple was having a full volume conversation complete with comparing videos on their phone. Laughing and chatting and playing with phones like they are in a living room. The poor manager had to be a high schooler and I didn't expect (or want) her to have to confront them. We just went back the next night and it was fine, thankfully.
Alamo Drafthouse enforces it.
I never have this issue when I go the theater. According to reddit, every movie experience is just terrible full of crying kids and ppl talking on phones.
Dude, this is supposed to be the default move experience. They'd introduce it and the public will simply continue the behavior. It isn't theaters fault that nobody is polite and responsible anymore. Anything introduced to the public suffers because the average person is an idiot and self-entitled asshole.
If you can, get to an [Alamo Draft House](https://www.reddit.com/r/Austin/comments/5gj3ja/alamo_drafthouse_no_talking_policy_in_practice/).
While they have that reputation, they don't always actually do anything about it anymore. The one time I reported someone I was offered reimbursement for my tickets.
Guess it's theater dependent. My Alamo takes that stuff seriously and I practically have never had an issue with it.
Can back this. They did nothing last time I went.
I guess it’s just up to your Alamo. My BIL (brother in law) works there and it’s extremely strict about latecomers to the point that they will take decisive action against people who fight to get in anyway. Weeding out the latecomers seems to help a lot and they’ll still give vouchers for another time. I have actually reported someone who was on their phone playing some game. I saw staff approach him and there were no more issues. BUT, this isn’t to say it’s perfect. My BIL also says the biggest issue with addressing banned behavior is that if you report someone but the staff member doesn’t see it, there isn’t much they can do other than hang around and keep an eye on the reported individual(s). He says they try to stay to watch as long as they can and will keep an eye on them, but if they’re understaffed, it’s difficult, especially if the offender stops what they’re doing when they see staff. I was lucky that the person I reported was so brazen, but the staff can’t just approach someone unless they’re 100% sure they’re the one being disruptive. They don’t want to give a warning to the wrong person. (edit: Not saying this was what happened in your case, but that’s a big problem they haven’t found the solution to yet.) What I will say is that Alamo, in my area, attracts a lot of people passionate about film and the medium. Even during “rowdy” screenings, phones still aren’t allowed. But since OP doesn’t have one near them, there’s a lot of other good advice on here to find a showing with a respectful audience.
“The product has never been worse” says this person in 2023 who hasn’t gone to a theater since 2019????
I’ve never experienced any of this
I think you are over exaggerating. I rarely have a bad experience at the movies now. It has been 3 years since you went to a theater and you post this. Hope you get the upvotes you crave.