Movie Theater Experiences

[therewillbeblus]

Not sure if this has already been noted, but I saw Babygirl at the local AMC, and instead of Kidman's ad playing they just played their other opening ad twice in a row - I wonder if this is a clause she has for all her films? It's certainly something I'd bet was in a contract for this one, since such a sensitive performance would've been soiled by her self-actualized Star presence directly preceding it

[Never Cursed]

Letterboxd user fictionaljake has an Experience at the movie theater

[Big Ben]

A comment below that review says "Lobotomies for all". Couldn't agree more.

[Murdoch]

Texting, Weed and Sing-Alongs: Four Terrible Ideas for Bringing New Audiences to Movie Theaters

[FrauBlucher]

That sucks. That's what it takes to get new audiences

[Roger Ryan]

The article isn't saying any cinema is considering taking these measures, only that these questionable ideas maybe, sorta, could be considered to improve attendance. The weed one would require legislation to be passed before it could be implemented and is highly unlikely (pun intended), cell phone use could continue as it is minus any usher intent on enforcing a mandate (the reference to that Michigan college student who is looking for any excuse to get back to her phone is the most depressing part in the article), and cinema sing-alongs have already been a thing for decades (no problem there; just keep that activity to select screenings).

[ianthemovie]

Related article from NPR: Movie Theaters Aren't Just for Movies Anymore

I'm all for finding new ways to foster community engagement with movies, though I take umbrage at the quote "I'm serving the community. It's not even about the movies at the end of the day." ](*,)

[colinr0380]

Very similar to the articles that came out (and keep coming out) relating to libraries 'not being about books' any more, to justify their continued existence. It often ends up being more about their owners attempts at justifying the space by putting other, more attractive(?), stuff in it than anything particularly to do with the original core purpose, turning something specifically purposeful into a generic 'social hub'.

[The Curious Sofa]

Where I live, cell phone use and people chatting through the entire film has become the default. As a result I've stopped going to the cinema. I would start going again if we had cinemas where disruptive behaviour is prohibited but I can't see it happening here. Even behaviour at the theatre and opera (both of which I still go to) is on the slide.

[tenia]

I would start going again if we had cinemas where disruptive behaviour is prohibited but I can't see it happening here. Even behaviour at the theatre and opera (both of which I still go to) is on the slide.

But those ARE prohibited. The issue is that enforcement of the prohibitions has become less and less maintained, thus extremely bad habits taking their roots freely.

If people want to be on their phones during 2 hours, they can do that at home, and probably for cheaper at that.

[Aunt Peg]

Whilst this didn't happen at a cinema it did happen at a live concert and it will be the last I will ever attend.

Being very big Mariza fan (she is a Portuguese fados singer), hubby and I were thrilled to have the opportunity to see Mariza play at the Sydney Opera House receently.

We had seen her back in October 2009 (the last time she toured Australia) and the concert was sensational.

This time however, it was pretty much ruined by the appalling audience behaviour.

The last live concert we had been to was Marianne Faithful at the Sydney Opera House back in January 2010 when she was in some stage show with other international figures that received the most scathing reviews I've ever seen. And the local media reported it like it was the second coming of Christ but in the most negative way possible. Marianne had arranged for a personal concert at the SOP which had nothing to do with the other show and it was very clear she was rattled by the very bad reception to it the other show. However, within 20 minutes it was clear to her that audiences where loving her concert and she became some relaxed and at ease and gave a sensational show. I feel very privileged to have seen this icon performance her greatest hits so stunningly.

Why mention this - well the Mariza concert was the first I've attended since Marianne Faithfuls which were less than 3 months apart.

Mariza's 2009 concert was great in every respect and importantly the audience gave her due respect.

This time....oh my god. The concert was nearly impossible to enjoy thanks to the audience talking during the concert, mobile phones on everywhere filming the concert (why - there is plenty of concert footage on the internet from Mariza's live performances).

I am never going to any live performances anymore - I can't believe how audiences have changed since 2010 (the Marianne Faithful concert) to early 2025.

Yikes.

[The Curious Sofa]

I would start going again if we had cinemas where disruptive behaviour is prohibited but I can't see it happening here. Even behaviour at the theatre and opera (both of which I still go to) is on the slide.

But those ARE prohibited. The issue is that enforcement of the prohibitions has become less and less maintained, thus extremely bad habits taking their roots freely.

If people want to be on their phones during 2 hours, they can do that at home, and probably for cheaper at that.

They could be considered prohibited if there was any kind of announcement before the show, which there isn't here in Berlin (there was in many London cinemas when I lived there). So if you complain to members of the audience who are behaving in an anti-social manner, you have no recourse and are often confronted with their sense of entitlement or even aggression. In theatres and opera houses, there is an announcement to switch off mobile phones, but by now there should also be one to remind people not to talk during the performance, which is becoming increasingly common. The perpetrators are usually older people who should know better.

[HJackson]

I've been going to live theatre a lot more than cinema lately and I actually find the behaviour there worse - especially phones going off during shows.

Some of it is an attendance effect (cinema screenings are almost always more sparsely populated than theatre shows, so there are just fewer people around you to annoy you) and some of it is probably that audience noise in a theatre is less masked by constant noise coming from a film, but age is also a pattern you can't help but notice. I get the sense that a lot of older people now carry digital devices out of necessity that they are not completely comfortable operating, and so don't turn off their phones because they have no idea how to do it or how they would power them back up. And when the phones do go off they have no idea how to stop it from making noise other than answering the call (or, in one instance, throwing it into their handbag and hoping everybody will just ignore the noise because it is now slightly muffled).

I also probably avoid the worst behaviour you get in cinemas by primarily seeing things that skew the audience more cinephile and less Joe Public, whereas no matter what you see at a theatre you can't really avoid the retiree who is more interested in carrying on a conservation than watching the play because they've already seen ten Streetcars, and who is only there because going to the theatre is just "the thing they do" with their ill-gotten boomer wealth.

[The Curious Sofa]

I went to the theatre yesterday (Ionesco's The Bald Soprano) and two telephones actually went off. The middle-aged couple next to me were talking for most of the play, but at least they were whispering, which isn't always the case. Still, it wasn't as annoying as my recent cinema experiences, where a large part of the audience behaved as if they were at home on their sofa.

[tenia]

I would start going again if we had cinemas where disruptive behaviour is prohibited but I can't see it happening here. Even behaviour at the theatre and opera (both of which I still go to) is on the slide.

But those ARE prohibited. The issue is that enforcement of the prohibitions has become less and less maintained, thus extremely bad habits taking their roots freely.

If people want to be on their phones during 2 hours, they can do that at home, and probably for cheaper at that.

They could be considered prohibited if there was any kind of announcement before the show, which there isn't here in Berlin (there was in many London cinemas when I lived there). So if you complain to members of the audience who are behaving in an anti-social manner, you have no recourse and are often confronted with their sense of entitlement or even aggression. In theatres and opera houses, there is an announcement to switch off mobile phones, but by now there should also be one to remind people not to talk during the performance, which is becoming increasingly common. The perpetrators are usually older people who should know better.

There might be local specificities, but I don't believe I'd be wrong saying it's a widespread issue that also affects showings where there can even be a specific explicit warning prior to the movie's projections. There are also terms and conditions, though I guess often implicit, into going to the movies and one of them is to behave in a way that does not disturb other viewers from enjoying the show. In any case, even specific prior warning doesn't deter rude behaviors... because there is no consequence in doing it due to a lack of enforcement. I'm lucky enough to attend pretty much 100% undisturbed showings, but it probably has to do with official and audience reactions to those starting to disturb them. When a whole theater room is against you, you 99.9% of the time either stop or leave (or are drunk, do not care, and get thrown out).

And yeah, older people are part of the issue, but they're also sensitive to this. They don't like getting patronized : well, they can behave properly instead.

A long time ago (20 years ago at least : it was for Spider Man 2), a couple of parents let their child roam free in the theater's screening room hallway and stairs. I had to yell in a quite mean way for the parents to go and get him and yeah, they weren’t happy about being shamed publicly this way, but the fact is that they hadn’t reacted for like 20 minutes before that but it took them 2 minutes to get the kid once they got pointed out. Sometimes, it’s all it takes for 400 people finally getting to enjoy what they came for and the one person who was disturbing it to just stop.

I get the sense that a lot of older people now carry digital devices out of necessity that they are not completely comfortable operating, and so don't turn off their phones because they have no idea how to do it or how they would power them back up. And when the phones do go off they have no idea how to stop it from making noise other than answering the call (or, in one instance, throwing it into their handbag and hoping everybody will just ignore the noise because it is now slightly muffled).

It probably is part of it, but only a part. When I’m bothered by the persons next to me using their phones and who turns out to be older people, they’re mostly reading text messages and responding to them and doing so for the whole screening. It’s not a sound issue – they’re either on vibrations or mute – but they’re choosing not to care, having their screen at photon cannon light level, and keep reading and answering and reading and answering. They could ignore it, but they don’t, so it’s not a technological limitation but a conscious choice of using their phones repeatedly during the screening.
In my experience, most of them just need someone reminding them they can wait for 90 minutes before answering, or maybe they need to step out of the screening if this requires an urgent full conversation. They might grumble for 2 minutes, but they’ll stop.

[Drucker]

Related article from NPR: Movie Theaters Aren't Just for Movies Anymore

I'm all for finding new ways to foster community engagement with movies, though I take umbrage at the quote "I'm serving the community. It's not even about the movies at the end of the day." ](*,)

I think this is true actually. Rules like don't talk or take your phone out were for the days when people wanted to watch a movie. Nowadays, I just want to experience content, so I have no problem with people taking their phone out at theaters.

In all seriousness, I've been to the theaters only a couple of handfuls of times since my son was born two years ago. For the most part I stick to repertory cinemas where I think this is less of an issue. With that said, more annoying than people talking or using their phones is, I have found, people meme-ing the movies. I saw Seven Samurai at Film Forum on 35mm, and at the line where one of the samurai says "There are seven of us now," an audience member exclaimed "yeah" loudly. Truly insufferable.

[Monterey Jack]

The "CHICKEN JOCKEY!!!" Minecraft videos circulating on social media just make me shake my head in bewilderment. Is THIS the future of cinema, idiots yelling out random lines in an attempt to "Go viral"?

[tenia]

Not if these people and their behaviors are confined to dedicated screenings, while the same happening in a regular screening would result in them getting thrown out.
Until it's un-consequential, then yes.

[Guido]

Unfortunately, I learned my lesson the hard way when it comes to addressing shitty behavior in theatres — at Metrograph, of all places. This was a few years ago, at an afternoon screening of Downtown 81. Despite ample pre-show warnings forbidding phone usage, this guy in the row ahead of mine, a few seats over, spent the first 20 minutes pulling out his phone and texting. After the fifth or sixth offence, I leaned over and firmly told the guy to put the phone away. He waits a beat, stands up, walks over to me, and screams while pointing his finger in my face that he's "dealing with an emergency." I tell him to take it outside, and he proceeds to throw more expletives and shout that I've "completely ruined the movie" before storming out. But this ridiculous encounter doesn't end there. After the film, the asshole accosts me in the lobby (he's been waiting an hour to do this?!) and keeps shouting this and that about his situation and how intolerant and insensitive I am. I gave him the final word and he finally fucked off. I bought a beautiful OLED tv and a nice sound system shortly thereafter.

[beamish14]

The newest gimmick to get asses into seats: Cosm
is offering 360 degree immersive “shared reality” and re-releasing The Matrix to test the waters

[Mr. Deltoid]

The newest gimmick to get asses into seats: Cosm
is offering 360 degree immersive “shared reality” and re-releasing The Matrix to test the waters

Salo next?

[beamish14]

The newest gimmick to get asses into seats: Cosm
is offering 360 degree immersive “shared reality” and re-releasing The Matrix to test the waters

Salo next?

I’d love to see the ending of Sweet Movie with “bullet time” and in this format

[spectre]

Was struggling to get a sense of what this thing actually was until I actually found a page on the website with some photos:

https://prodblue.cosm-cdn.io/cosmdotcom ... ships.webp

So it's IMAX but you get to sit on the floor?

Edit: I found the Matrix "experience" trailer and it's even goofier than that:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5CEmkWv7DY

[tenia]

Looks like some "next level" ICE showing.
I wonder why filmmaking teams are bothering framing stuff properly (well, for those who actually have a flair for this), considering how many gimmicks nowadays are focused on offering stuff OUTSIDE the freaking screen.

[Walter Kurtz]

Don't you guys worry. At some point in the future... going to movies and sitting still and watching them will be a RETRO tm experience.

Here we have Jill and Bob leaving the theater after their first Retro Experience. Let's interview them!

JILL: I don't get it. I was sitting there in my seat and nothing happened.
BOB: Yeah. There's people on the screen and talking to each other and nothing else.
JILL: It's so stupid.