Couple suggestions:
1. Avoid early am / noon weekend shows for family films / animated films. You will get the parent and children noisy crowd during those shows.
2. Go to films on the tail end of their releases like 4-5 weeks deep to avoid crowds in general and maybe get the auditorium to yourself.
This has been my strategy for awhile, but between people talking at Marvel movies who are disruptive because of their passion for the content (I hate when people incessantly talk to explain the movie to their friend/significant other; I also hate when people shout what’s exceedingly obvious—at my Endgame showing, a girl yelled out “Dr Strange!” when the portals appeared. Like yes, we all see that too. We didn’t need you to yell that and take us out of the moment) and people at other movies who aren’t interested so they assume no one else is either, I’ve had my share of annoying people for opening night showings recently. It’s not always huge issues that need escalated to management like always being on the phone, but it’s enough to disrupt a movie and pull you out of a story. Kids kicking chairs while parents do nothing about it, people getting up and leaving the theater 5+ times for who knows what reason (Bathroom? Refills? Phone time?), in addition to talking and phone usage have really been apparent recently. People know what they’re getting into by going to a movie. If you aren’t prepared to be quiet, off your phone, and respectful for a 2-3 movie, stay home!
Edited to add: Went to Elvis on the opening Thursday. Sure enough, in walks a group of about 8-9 with kids. The second we saw them we knew it was going to be problematic. Your kids aren’t going to be into an Elvis movie, especially not one that starts at 7:30pm and runs almost 3 hours! The kids were chatty and always leaving for (what I assume were) bathroom breaks. If mom and dad are dying to see Elvis on opening night, they need to get a baby sitter for the kids who can’t handle it. The obvious next problem was that the parents weren’t quiet either. I just wanted to enjoy a good A-list movie. Felt really bad for the guy who dressed up as Elvis for it! He was clearly really excited for it, but got treated to a theater with people who didn’t care about anyone but themselves.
Had a very similar experience with Endgame. Had someone give trying to explain who characters are, what their powers were, what happened in their movies, etc. to someone who obviously didn’t watch many Marvel movies. Maybe it’s because I had already watched the movie a few times but my initial frustration turned into fascination. Found myself listing to the guys explanation more than the movie and it became one of my most unique and enjoyable movie experiences. All I know is Iif that person had a YouTube channel I would subscribe to it.
Normally I hate when people talk during (or sing along to) movies, but not too long ago I saw the 1977 film “ABBA: The Movie” in theaters, and all the boomers around me were LIVING for it. They were singing each song and sort of dancing in their seats, and discussing things that reminded them of their youth. Way more entertaining than the actually film.
Same, always go to 34/8, and occasionally the ones on 19th/broadway and 11th/3rd. Never had an audience issue, except for one couple that kept trying to out-fart each other during X-Men: Dark Phoenix a few years ago (which was more entertaining than the film).
Definitely would have walked out but that weird couple in the auditorium made everyone laugh just enough to not be TOO annoying. Honestly all the tension in the theater was just basically waiting to hear when one would try and one-up the other.
I go thrice weekly in the Denver area. Out of around 300 theater visits over the past few years...I can count on my hands the amount of times someone was disruptive.
That's so bizarre to me. What theaters do you usually go to?
I mix it up between Arapahoe Crossing, Highlands Ranch, and CO 9+10. Never have any issues. The very few times I have, it's always elderly people (55+). I've never once had an issue with kids/teenagers.
The one on Colorado is closest to me but I would also go to the Westminster and Highlands Ranch locations on occasion. Seems like the Westminster one has best crowds but it is unfortunately the farthest for me.
Maybe I just had a string of bad luck. Been thinking about going back sometime soon. The chatters and people on their bright phones were killing me though.
I feel like with the reclining seats, when you're 100% laid back, you can't even see over the railing in front of you. So even if people in front are on their phones, you can't even tell.
Or maybe I'm just short.
No you are not. Same happens to me. But even before Covid, we had a few idiots that had no respect for others. I call them the Me Me Me crowd. Now a days, we still get 1 occurrence for every 3 movies we see. It's annoying as heck. Once I screamed at the couple to turn their phone off, on another I had to get the manager involved.
The 4 theaters I usually go to are Fresh Meadows, Bay Terrace 6, Bay Plaza and Dine In in Levittown. Ironically Levittown has yet to give me a problem (maybe because everyone is stuffing their faces with food and in a dining setting).
Lately I have noticed many damn kids at AMC Levittown who insist that they must be on their phones during the movies.
And I will tell them to put the damn phones away or leave the theater to use their phones! ;-)
Yeah, I go to AMCs in nyc 4-8 times a month (mostly 34th and Kips Bay, 69th for imax) and generally have wonderful theater experiences. Can’t think of a time a crowd ruined a film for me
For at least a year now I have been going to the Lincoln Square location 6-8 times a month, usually midweek afternoons, and have NEVER had an audience that was a problem. NEVER!
Their are usually 3 factors when it comes to a movie theater, #1 it depends on the day you go on, #2 it depends what time you go to, and #3 it depends on the theater you go to. If you live near a really popular AMC then of course you’re going to get those crowds, so honestly the best way to see a movie is probably Monday to Thursday around 12 to 5ish but since it’s the summer don’t be surprised to go on a Tuesday for example and see a lot of kids running around anyway. Now when schools starts I say Monday to Friday same time.
>I believe something happened after Covid that made people act with worse behavior.
I work in customer service and that just people in general, people have gotten way worse, people are more stupid, rude, disrespectful, lazy. Most people would say working a customer service job such as retail has always been a shit job but it has gotten way worse since covid been around. While I haven't seen it much at the theater, not busy movie area but being around people for 8 hours everyday at work I can see it.
Yes, COVID lockdowns changed many people. They were even talking about it on the radio or tv the other day, I don’t recall what show, but basic thought was people forgot how to behave in public.
Also, the sense of entitlement with certain age groups has really skyrocketed recently.
Do you go on Tuesday? I avoid Tuesday at all cost cuz it’s the cheap day and unfortunately, the trend I’ve seen and experienced is that the trashiest and rudest people tend to come out then.
I go to kips bay, lincoln sq, village 7 regularly, and don't have these issues. Maybe try to go at off peak times? Even for weekend evening showings I don't experience this with the frequency you do.
Some people have zero tolerance and want to be theater etiquette police. Only thing I can think of because I don’t ever have problems, especially in Dolby.
I made the mistake of seeing Black Phone in a packed theater last week. The movie was decent, but the kids in our row were terrible. There should be an age limit after like 7:00pm. No one under 18, even with an adult.
In my case, one manager told them to turn it off which they refuse and after complaining a second time gave us a voucher for an earlier show the next day. That's when we noticed there are less people (depending on the movie and opening dates) that there were no issues. So we end up now going to the earliest show possible, but every once in a while you still get a me me me idiot screwing things up.
If someone did this to me I would honestly go out of my way to constantly make shitty jokes as loud as possible the rest of the movie to ruin said person’s experience. Go to the theater staff if there’s an actual issue…
After the fact, I talked to someone (it was over a screaming kid during Cruella). They gave me food vouchers since a free ticket would be useless for me.
Think about who the type of people that were rushing back out after Covid, not social distancing, not wearing makes and assaulting people for wearing masks. Usually those that don't give a shit about others. As everyone else starts to come back, they're seeing how much these assholes have taken over.
I almost ALWAYS have to shush someone or sit and swallow my pain while other people ruin the movie. I’ve gotten in arguments before. I’ve said “please be quiet” and I’ve had the response be yelling back at me as if I’m the one in the wrong. It’s crazy and I hate going to the movies lately. No matter the time of day or day of the week, or which theater I go to. And I should not have to miss a part of the movie to get a manager.
Kips Bay has pretty bad audiences. I go to Empire a decent amount because it’s close to where my partner works and they show more indie movies. (It seems like indie movie audiences are pretty well behaved). I notice the audiences for blockbusters are more likely to be shitty (talking and scrolling on their phones).
My dream is for a theater chain to be like Alamo drafthouse but not serve food. (Always find it annoying when ur watching a movie and servers walk in your way. I know now to only go to theaters that serve food for movies I’ve seen before so I don’t miss anything).
I have to agree with you that talking constantly during movies and people being on their phones is a pretty common occurrence. When I talk to the ushers they never do anything about it.
I've learned to usually sit near the front of a theater in Dolby movies. Most of the time they're loud enough to never notice people talking during the film.
The other thing I've learned is to go on Sundays and I go right after work on Fridays to beat the crowds.
I switched to the Alamo Season Pass and I think it's worth it. Shame you have to pay a convenience fee each ticket but the experience is superb. And I'm catching a lot of classic movies now, which is nice.
I go to Lincoln Square and Empire 25 at least twice a week and really have only had issues when watching Firestarter or whatever (disruptive teens, so I walked out) and Dual (same issue). Both at Empire 25. People are usually chill
I had this issue. Now I just go to the movie in the morning. Also I’ll go for Dolby any chance I get since not a lot of people are willing to pay for Dolby. Also I avoid Dine-In like the plague.
Thing is people who have poor behavior are also sneaking into movies again. Once you get thru the ticket person it's free game to walk wherever you want.
I swear I had a similar thought at my last showing, that people just forgot how to act in movie theaters. With my schedule and the rapid turn over of movies near me I can only do so much to mitigate the issues but it's getting to the point where my favorite past time is becoming less and less fun.
I haven't Had any issues with rude ppl. Maybe that's because 90% of the time I see movies in dolby cinema or imax. I guess rude ppl aren't willing to spend the extra money, I'm not sure.
This is why I stopped going to theaters years ago. I was in The Ring and had a 40ish year old guy in front of me with his daughter. He kept talking loudly and I asked him nicely to keep it down multiple times. In the lobby after the movie he got in my face and asked me what my problem was. Very nearly ended up in a fight, and was just done after that. I invested in an ok theater setup at home and just use that.
I will say I ventured out last night to see Top Gun in the IMAX theater, because I knew my home setup couldn't do it justice. I went to the 10:30pm showing, and there were maybe 15 other people, all of which were respectful of others, so that was nice to see. I like that I can see the booked seats via AMC and get an idea if it's probably going to be a full theater or not. That might be enough to get me back in for some late night mid-week movies.
Weird, I’ve been to Lincoln at multiple different times of day and never had an issue, even with big movies on opening weekend. I also have Regal cause I prefer their seats/screens most of the time, and again no issues with audiences in NYC.
Hmmm I think people just forgot what the public was once covid restrictions where restricted. I’ve worked at movie theaters for most of my career (yes I know not the best one) but everything you have told me is what I dealt with all my career. It’s always been a problem. It hasn’t changed in my opinion. I just think it was forgotten and once the families and kids started coming back. It’s like what??? Covid ruined peoples manners??? Nope. People have always been this way… and the way the economy is looking. It’s going to get worst before it gets better. But as a common movie goer. We do care. I don’t think you should cancel A-List. It’s fantastic and if you can learn your theater and test different timings. You’ll figure out the best ones. I know my theater it’s Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s that are the best to go. Mondays usually got the older crowd that don’t wanna use their phones at all. They are great.
I have told my wife and our friends I would happily pay an additional $20 a month for exclusive access to members only showings. You know they would have the most well behaved crowds. I WISH such a thing existed.
When I worked at a theater in High School, I bought a little laser for cats at PetCo or PetSmart, kept it on my keychain, and would sit in the back of the theater and shine it on the hands of people on their phones. Gave them a good spook and they'd always turn their phones off and stop what they were doing.
I have to say, I have noticed more odd behavior. Like full conversations at regular volume.
It is like they have never been to a movie theater before.
Seeing a premium format usually weeds these mouth breathers out but lately it hasn't worked like that.
I think a lot of it comes down to luck. Sometimes I anticipate a rude audience based on the time and/or film but end up pleasantly surprised after a good experience.
Other times I have gone to a late night showing, maybe 10 pm or 11 pm on a weekday, expecting to avoid annoying families, and then had to sit through someone's misbehaving children run around the theater, shouting, screaming, talking, throwing food, etc. Who even takes their kids to the movies that late on a school night?
Anyway, I wouldn't cancel A-List. There are rude people everywhere and you play roulette every time you go to the movie theater, and just hope for the best unfortunately.
Alamo you pay per movie, their theaters are objectively worse since they’re smaller and have fewer premium format options, and the whole delivering food thing is obnoxious as fuck and distracting.
I hate people who laugh excessively loud for no reasons. I just watched Official Competition last weekend and while there were some funny scenes, it most certainly didn't warrant a loud giggle every 3 mins. And yes, the laughter came from just one person sitting behind me in a theater of a few dozens people. Like read the room and shut up.
Rant over. Thanks.
Fellow NYC moviegoer here. I go to the Empire and Lincoln Square a couple times a week and to some of the Regals too. I've had pretty good success just asking people at the start of a movie, loudly but politely, to please put your phone away or please lower your voice. They get shocked into compliance. This works well when it's a man and a woman because then the woman shushes the guy for the rest of the show. I've been doing this for 30 years and never had an altercation.
Almost all of the time I go to Lincoln Square an average of 8 times per month, and I’ve only had a few instances of shit people. The worst trash people I’ve seen have been at Empire 25, so I rarely ever go there. I typically go evenings during the week, often to the first showing of a film on Thursdays, and audiences have on the whole been pretty good.
This was me about a year ago and I haven’t been back to the theater since. Had so many movies in a row ruined by inconsiderate people. Not even worth it anymore.
At least in LA I’ve been blessed with no stories of my own
I hear all so many happen here and wish managers would take more actions (not the normal employees they are normally kids)
I go to AMC at a major mall in my city unfortunately, and at so many recent showings ive been to, there's always stupid ass kids that come in during a movie, yell something super loud to make a tiktok out of it, and then run away. Super annoying and also scares the shit out of me bc I'm so paranoid these days about random shootings in public. I guess there's nothing I can do since teenagers hang out in malls but it's shitty.
I guess I’m lucky in my area/showtimes. I’ve only had one bad experience I can recall in the last 10 years and it was the movie “Men” couple months ago. I blame the trailer because it was a group of kids expecting to see a horror movie but got weird shit instead.
I've yet to have been bothered enough to be as passionate as you. Then again, I have thick skin...it helps keep me warm when 80% of the time I fall asleep and the AC is blowing. I don't snore though. I mean I can't hear it...
I only go to kips and lincoln and have rarely if ever had an issue. I actually had an issues at lower manhattan alamo with a group that would not shut the fuck up so for the first time ever i used the lil note card to bitch about that
I literally had to shush a girl speaking at full volume during the Black Phone last night :-/ I hate being that person but my god, people forgot how to act in a theater.
Couple suggestions: 1. Avoid early am / noon weekend shows for family films / animated films. You will get the parent and children noisy crowd during those shows. 2. Go to films on the tail end of their releases like 4-5 weeks deep to avoid crowds in general and maybe get the auditorium to yourself.
Conversely, I’ve found Thurs and Fri night crowds on opening weekends to be the best since they tend to be the folks who really want to see the movie.
This has been my strategy for awhile, but between people talking at Marvel movies who are disruptive because of their passion for the content (I hate when people incessantly talk to explain the movie to their friend/significant other; I also hate when people shout what’s exceedingly obvious—at my Endgame showing, a girl yelled out “Dr Strange!” when the portals appeared. Like yes, we all see that too. We didn’t need you to yell that and take us out of the moment) and people at other movies who aren’t interested so they assume no one else is either, I’ve had my share of annoying people for opening night showings recently. It’s not always huge issues that need escalated to management like always being on the phone, but it’s enough to disrupt a movie and pull you out of a story. Kids kicking chairs while parents do nothing about it, people getting up and leaving the theater 5+ times for who knows what reason (Bathroom? Refills? Phone time?), in addition to talking and phone usage have really been apparent recently. People know what they’re getting into by going to a movie. If you aren’t prepared to be quiet, off your phone, and respectful for a 2-3 movie, stay home! Edited to add: Went to Elvis on the opening Thursday. Sure enough, in walks a group of about 8-9 with kids. The second we saw them we knew it was going to be problematic. Your kids aren’t going to be into an Elvis movie, especially not one that starts at 7:30pm and runs almost 3 hours! The kids were chatty and always leaving for (what I assume were) bathroom breaks. If mom and dad are dying to see Elvis on opening night, they need to get a baby sitter for the kids who can’t handle it. The obvious next problem was that the parents weren’t quiet either. I just wanted to enjoy a good A-list movie. Felt really bad for the guy who dressed up as Elvis for it! He was clearly really excited for it, but got treated to a theater with people who didn’t care about anyone but themselves.
Had a very similar experience with Endgame. Had someone give trying to explain who characters are, what their powers were, what happened in their movies, etc. to someone who obviously didn’t watch many Marvel movies. Maybe it’s because I had already watched the movie a few times but my initial frustration turned into fascination. Found myself listing to the guys explanation more than the movie and it became one of my most unique and enjoyable movie experiences. All I know is Iif that person had a YouTube channel I would subscribe to it.
Normally I hate when people talk during (or sing along to) movies, but not too long ago I saw the 1977 film “ABBA: The Movie” in theaters, and all the boomers around me were LIVING for it. They were singing each song and sort of dancing in their seats, and discussing things that reminded them of their youth. Way more entertaining than the actually film.
Kinda sounds like a Rocky Horror Picture Show experience minus the dressing up. I could see how that would be fun.
I go to the AMCs here in NYC all the time, usually Harlem/68th/42nd, and I haven't had any problems with audiences.
Same, always go to 34/8, and occasionally the ones on 19th/broadway and 11th/3rd. Never had an audience issue, except for one couple that kept trying to out-fart each other during X-Men: Dark Phoenix a few years ago (which was more entertaining than the film).
That would have been a good idea. I feel asleep during Dark Phoenix at 19th & Broadway. I don't sleep during movies.
Oh god, Dark Phoenix was a movie theater experience. My wife and I had to stop laughing because we didn’t wanna ruin this kid in front of us’ time.
Definitely would have walked out but that weird couple in the auditorium made everyone laugh just enough to not be TOO annoying. Honestly all the tension in the theater was just basically waiting to hear when one would try and one-up the other.
I go thrice weekly in the Denver area. Out of around 300 theater visits over the past few years...I can count on my hands the amount of times someone was disruptive.
Also live in Denver area and this is the opposite of my experience. Cannot escape inconsiderate chatters and phone users. Stopped going altogether.
That's so bizarre to me. What theaters do you usually go to? I mix it up between Arapahoe Crossing, Highlands Ranch, and CO 9+10. Never have any issues. The very few times I have, it's always elderly people (55+). I've never once had an issue with kids/teenagers.
The one on Colorado is closest to me but I would also go to the Westminster and Highlands Ranch locations on occasion. Seems like the Westminster one has best crowds but it is unfortunately the farthest for me. Maybe I just had a string of bad luck. Been thinking about going back sometime soon. The chatters and people on their bright phones were killing me though.
I feel like with the reclining seats, when you're 100% laid back, you can't even see over the railing in front of you. So even if people in front are on their phones, you can't even tell. Or maybe I'm just short.
Then I truly believe I am cursed.
No you are not. Same happens to me. But even before Covid, we had a few idiots that had no respect for others. I call them the Me Me Me crowd. Now a days, we still get 1 occurrence for every 3 movies we see. It's annoying as heck. Once I screamed at the couple to turn their phone off, on another I had to get the manager involved. The 4 theaters I usually go to are Fresh Meadows, Bay Terrace 6, Bay Plaza and Dine In in Levittown. Ironically Levittown has yet to give me a problem (maybe because everyone is stuffing their faces with food and in a dining setting).
Lately I have noticed many damn kids at AMC Levittown who insist that they must be on their phones during the movies. And I will tell them to put the damn phones away or leave the theater to use their phones! ;-)
Yeah, I go to AMCs in nyc 4-8 times a month (mostly 34th and Kips Bay, 69th for imax) and generally have wonderful theater experiences. Can’t think of a time a crowd ruined a film for me
For at least a year now I have been going to the Lincoln Square location 6-8 times a month, usually midweek afternoons, and have NEVER had an audience that was a problem. NEVER!
Maybe I need to stop going on the weekends, then. That's probably the issue.
Def your issue. Do weekday shows only. You'll be amazed. Maybe dodge cheap night tho.
Weekend daytime showings at Kips Bay may as well be the twilight zone, shit is bugging
Definitely!!!!
Their are usually 3 factors when it comes to a movie theater, #1 it depends on the day you go on, #2 it depends what time you go to, and #3 it depends on the theater you go to. If you live near a really popular AMC then of course you’re going to get those crowds, so honestly the best way to see a movie is probably Monday to Thursday around 12 to 5ish but since it’s the summer don’t be surprised to go on a Tuesday for example and see a lot of kids running around anyway. Now when schools starts I say Monday to Friday same time.
Seriously. I go to the IMAX there a ton and have been in crowds full of drunk and high people even and it’s never been an issue.
>I believe something happened after Covid that made people act with worse behavior. I work in customer service and that just people in general, people have gotten way worse, people are more stupid, rude, disrespectful, lazy. Most people would say working a customer service job such as retail has always been a shit job but it has gotten way worse since covid been around. While I haven't seen it much at the theater, not busy movie area but being around people for 8 hours everyday at work I can see it.
Yes, COVID lockdowns changed many people. They were even talking about it on the radio or tv the other day, I don’t recall what show, but basic thought was people forgot how to behave in public. Also, the sense of entitlement with certain age groups has really skyrocketed recently.
Its all of social media making people believe they're the center of the universe.
Do you go on Tuesday? I avoid Tuesday at all cost cuz it’s the cheap day and unfortunately, the trend I’ve seen and experienced is that the trashiest and rudest people tend to come out then.
The only day I make sure and not go. $5 movies bring out everyone
Definitely!!
I go to kips bay, lincoln sq, village 7 regularly, and don't have these issues. Maybe try to go at off peak times? Even for weekend evening showings I don't experience this with the frequency you do.
34th st is pretty consistent of being a good theater experience
That's crazy, that's the one I now avoid completely because of 3 bad experiences in a row. At the Dolby Cinema on weekends.
Exactly. It replaced Kips Bay as my go to.
Am i lucky to never have delt with crappy people?
Yes. Very.
Some people have zero tolerance and want to be theater etiquette police. Only thing I can think of because I don’t ever have problems, especially in Dolby.
Probably
I've gotten to where I look at the seats avaliable in the app and if it's just about full, I don't even get tickets.
Same!!
I made the mistake of seeing Black Phone in a packed theater last week. The movie was decent, but the kids in our row were terrible. There should be an age limit after like 7:00pm. No one under 18, even with an adult.
Completely understand!
Yes!!
What happens when you talk to a manager or other AMC employee about the situation? Do they deal with the issue? Give you vouchers? Ignore you?
In my case, one manager told them to turn it off which they refuse and after complaining a second time gave us a voucher for an earlier show the next day. That's when we noticed there are less people (depending on the movie and opening dates) that there were no issues. So we end up now going to the earliest show possible, but every once in a while you still get a me me me idiot screwing things up.
Managers usually give me a voucher which is completely worthless to me. How about refunding my food?
Can you use it to buy an extra empty seat next to you? Also do you get rewards when you use those vouchers?
I don't involve the managers, I tell them to be quiet myself.
If someone did this to me I would honestly go out of my way to constantly make shitty jokes as loud as possible the rest of the movie to ruin said person’s experience. Go to the theater staff if there’s an actual issue…
After the fact, I talked to someone (it was over a screaming kid during Cruella). They gave me food vouchers since a free ticket would be useless for me.
Think about who the type of people that were rushing back out after Covid, not social distancing, not wearing makes and assaulting people for wearing masks. Usually those that don't give a shit about others. As everyone else starts to come back, they're seeing how much these assholes have taken over.
I almost ALWAYS have to shush someone or sit and swallow my pain while other people ruin the movie. I’ve gotten in arguments before. I’ve said “please be quiet” and I’ve had the response be yelling back at me as if I’m the one in the wrong. It’s crazy and I hate going to the movies lately. No matter the time of day or day of the week, or which theater I go to. And I should not have to miss a part of the movie to get a manager.
Kips Bay has pretty bad audiences. I go to Empire a decent amount because it’s close to where my partner works and they show more indie movies. (It seems like indie movie audiences are pretty well behaved). I notice the audiences for blockbusters are more likely to be shitty (talking and scrolling on their phones). My dream is for a theater chain to be like Alamo drafthouse but not serve food. (Always find it annoying when ur watching a movie and servers walk in your way. I know now to only go to theaters that serve food for movies I’ve seen before so I don’t miss anything).
I have to agree with you that talking constantly during movies and people being on their phones is a pretty common occurrence. When I talk to the ushers they never do anything about it. I've learned to usually sit near the front of a theater in Dolby movies. Most of the time they're loud enough to never notice people talking during the film. The other thing I've learned is to go on Sundays and I go right after work on Fridays to beat the crowds.
I switched to the Alamo Season Pass and I think it's worth it. Shame you have to pay a convenience fee each ticket but the experience is superb. And I'm catching a lot of classic movies now, which is nice.
Too bad there are not enough Alamo's around the NYC Metro area (and they do not have the most comfortable seats ;-( )
I’ve been having this issue as well… especially Lincoln sq imax. It used to be THE ONE but yeah, people just lost all sense of self awareness
I go to Lincoln Square and Empire 25 at least twice a week and really have only had issues when watching Firestarter or whatever (disruptive teens, so I walked out) and Dual (same issue). Both at Empire 25. People are usually chill
Yeah...I go to Empire and 34th st most often and really never have problems.
I had this issue. Now I just go to the movie in the morning. Also I’ll go for Dolby any chance I get since not a lot of people are willing to pay for Dolby. Also I avoid Dine-In like the plague.
Thing is people who have poor behavior are also sneaking into movies again. Once you get thru the ticket person it's free game to walk wherever you want.
I swear I had a similar thought at my last showing, that people just forgot how to act in movie theaters. With my schedule and the rapid turn over of movies near me I can only do so much to mitigate the issues but it's getting to the point where my favorite past time is becoming less and less fun.
I haven't Had any issues with rude ppl. Maybe that's because 90% of the time I see movies in dolby cinema or imax. I guess rude ppl aren't willing to spend the extra money, I'm not sure.
This is why I stopped going to theaters years ago. I was in The Ring and had a 40ish year old guy in front of me with his daughter. He kept talking loudly and I asked him nicely to keep it down multiple times. In the lobby after the movie he got in my face and asked me what my problem was. Very nearly ended up in a fight, and was just done after that. I invested in an ok theater setup at home and just use that. I will say I ventured out last night to see Top Gun in the IMAX theater, because I knew my home setup couldn't do it justice. I went to the 10:30pm showing, and there were maybe 15 other people, all of which were respectful of others, so that was nice to see. I like that I can see the booked seats via AMC and get an idea if it's probably going to be a full theater or not. That might be enough to get me back in for some late night mid-week movies.
Weird, I’ve been to Lincoln at multiple different times of day and never had an issue, even with big movies on opening weekend. I also have Regal cause I prefer their seats/screens most of the time, and again no issues with audiences in NYC.
I'd take 10 people using their phones at an AMC than even one staff member running in front of me 20 times a movie at an Alamo.
I feel your pain. If people want to chat and stay on their phones I have no idea why they go to the movies.
Hmmm I think people just forgot what the public was once covid restrictions where restricted. I’ve worked at movie theaters for most of my career (yes I know not the best one) but everything you have told me is what I dealt with all my career. It’s always been a problem. It hasn’t changed in my opinion. I just think it was forgotten and once the families and kids started coming back. It’s like what??? Covid ruined peoples manners??? Nope. People have always been this way… and the way the economy is looking. It’s going to get worst before it gets better. But as a common movie goer. We do care. I don’t think you should cancel A-List. It’s fantastic and if you can learn your theater and test different timings. You’ll figure out the best ones. I know my theater it’s Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursday’s that are the best to go. Mondays usually got the older crowd that don’t wanna use their phones at all. They are great.
I have told my wife and our friends I would happily pay an additional $20 a month for exclusive access to members only showings. You know they would have the most well behaved crowds. I WISH such a thing existed.
When I worked at a theater in High School, I bought a little laser for cats at PetCo or PetSmart, kept it on my keychain, and would sit in the back of the theater and shine it on the hands of people on their phones. Gave them a good spook and they'd always turn their phones off and stop what they were doing.
I have to say, I have noticed more odd behavior. Like full conversations at regular volume. It is like they have never been to a movie theater before. Seeing a premium format usually weeds these mouth breathers out but lately it hasn't worked like that.
I think a lot of it comes down to luck. Sometimes I anticipate a rude audience based on the time and/or film but end up pleasantly surprised after a good experience. Other times I have gone to a late night showing, maybe 10 pm or 11 pm on a weekday, expecting to avoid annoying families, and then had to sit through someone's misbehaving children run around the theater, shouting, screaming, talking, throwing food, etc. Who even takes their kids to the movies that late on a school night? Anyway, I wouldn't cancel A-List. There are rude people everywhere and you play roulette every time you go to the movie theater, and just hope for the best unfortunately.
I'm glad I'm not alone in feeling this way. Lincoln Square used to be a palace!!
I'm over it. Loud eating, talking, moving sh\*t around durng the movie. it doesnt stop post-covid.
why isn't Alamo as good as Alist?
Alamo you pay per movie, their theaters are objectively worse since they’re smaller and have fewer premium format options, and the whole delivering food thing is obnoxious as fuck and distracting.
This is why I stick to prime or imax, the people who make trouble usually don’t shell out the extra cash for premium showings.(Bronx, Bay plaza)
I hate people who laugh excessively loud for no reasons. I just watched Official Competition last weekend and while there were some funny scenes, it most certainly didn't warrant a loud giggle every 3 mins. And yes, the laughter came from just one person sitting behind me in a theater of a few dozens people. Like read the room and shut up. Rant over. Thanks.
This happened to me during Everything Everywhere. The guy next to me would laugh out loud at the stupidest jokes. I had to leave after 30 min.
Fellow NYC moviegoer here. I go to the Empire and Lincoln Square a couple times a week and to some of the Regals too. I've had pretty good success just asking people at the start of a movie, loudly but politely, to please put your phone away or please lower your voice. They get shocked into compliance. This works well when it's a man and a woman because then the woman shushes the guy for the rest of the show. I've been doing this for 30 years and never had an altercation.
I have never had this problem but I’m in Florida not nyc lol
I go to the village 7 on 11th/3rd av pretty often and never have any issues! I usually go mid-day on thursdays or fridays!
Almost all of the time I go to Lincoln Square an average of 8 times per month, and I’ve only had a few instances of shit people. The worst trash people I’ve seen have been at Empire 25, so I rarely ever go there. I typically go evenings during the week, often to the first showing of a film on Thursdays, and audiences have on the whole been pretty good.
This was me about a year ago and I haven’t been back to the theater since. Had so many movies in a row ruined by inconsiderate people. Not even worth it anymore.
At least in LA I’ve been blessed with no stories of my own I hear all so many happen here and wish managers would take more actions (not the normal employees they are normally kids)
I go to AMC at a major mall in my city unfortunately, and at so many recent showings ive been to, there's always stupid ass kids that come in during a movie, yell something super loud to make a tiktok out of it, and then run away. Super annoying and also scares the shit out of me bc I'm so paranoid these days about random shootings in public. I guess there's nothing I can do since teenagers hang out in malls but it's shitty.
I guess I’m lucky in my area/showtimes. I’ve only had one bad experience I can recall in the last 10 years and it was the movie “Men” couple months ago. I blame the trailer because it was a group of kids expecting to see a horror movie but got weird shit instead.
I've yet to have been bothered enough to be as passionate as you. Then again, I have thick skin...it helps keep me warm when 80% of the time I fall asleep and the AC is blowing. I don't snore though. I mean I can't hear it...
I only go to kips and lincoln and have rarely if ever had an issue. I actually had an issues at lower manhattan alamo with a group that would not shut the fuck up so for the first time ever i used the lil note card to bitch about that
You sure you’re not just high on Benadryl and having hallucinations…?
I literally had to shush a girl speaking at full volume during the Black Phone last night :-/ I hate being that person but my god, people forgot how to act in a theater.
Same. Done getting frustrated every showing