A Quick Refresher On Movie Theater Etiquette

Movie theaters have been a place to escape for over a century now, a place where friends, families, or individuals can experience a whole new world for two or more hours. However, in the 21st century this experience has, let's face it, been tainted by individuals with no common decency or respect for others around them. There’s no definitive explanation for why people act out in the movie theater, as it didn’t used to be this way. It could be the fact we are all addicted to our phones, people’s need for attention on social media, the shortening of attention spans, or maybe just a surrend of societal norms after COVID. Whatever the reason is, the theater experience has been ruined due to the way people act. 

It’s time we go over proper theater etiquette, because it only takes one person to ruin the fun for everyone.

DO:

- Clean up after yourself. Yes, there are theater employees who'll sweep after the screening, but don't leave entire popcorn buckets laying on the floor. Pick up any trash and don't make the theater employees do more than they need to.

- Respect theater employees. This goes with the last point, but please respect local theater workers as they are just doing their job and getting minimum wage. Have your ticket(s) out and ready. If they are seemingly busy, just wait until they are available. They are human beings and deserve to be treated with respect.

- Respect your neighbor. Everyone in the theater spent their hard earned money to relax and watch a movie for ~2 hours, so please do not ruin their experience. Make room if they need to walk down the aisle, be kind to the seat in front of you, and mind any trash.

- Get comfortable. The theater should be a relaxing, safe space. Sit back and enjoy the film.

DO NOT:

- Have phones out during the film. This is one of the biggest offenses found in theaters today. It's fine to scroll while the trailers play -- with the brightness turned down of course -- but the second the theater ads come on, please silence any devices and put it on Do Not Disturb. No one likes to see a bright screen that’s just the top-half of Facebook. Additionally, no pictures or recording during the film. If you want to prove you saw the film then take a picture of your ticket stub or take a picture with the poster. Please respect the space you are in.

- Talk during the film. Again, talking during the trailers is fine. Make friends with your neighbors or discuss an upcoming release with friends; just don't be too loudly. However, do not talk during the film. You and everyone else in the screening has spent $15-$20 or more to watch the movie, not hear your thoughts, unrelated conversations, or your phone calls.

- Destroy the theater. It has become common practice recently during a big release (e.g. Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour and Wicked) or a movie that has been memed online (e.g. A Minecraft Movie and Minions: The Rise Of Gru) to get rowdy and disturb neighboring screenings. For The Eras Tour film, fans were loudly singing along, treating the theater like a concert, and the noise bled through into screenings that were right next to it, ruining the experience for a completely different audience. When A Minecraft Movie came out, people would bring chickens into the screening, fight in front of the screen, and throw their popcorn and beverages all over the place. These are just two examples of horror stories that sadly now feel common when discussing an outing to the movies. This goes back to a few of our other points about respecting your local theater employees because they shouldn’t have to deal with that or have to kick anyone out because of noise. 

- Bring a baby. It’s fine to bring a child to a G or PG-rated film, but it makes no sense to take them to a PG-13 or rated R film. Hearing a baby cry during a screening, or walking in and out whenever it does cry, causes a disturbance to everyone else in the theater. 

Remember these rules of etiquette for your next theater outing as it will make your experience much more enjoyable! Also, if you personally experience any distracting people at the movies, first try and tell them that they are being disruptive, and if that doesn’t work, then notify a theater employee. Enjoy the show!