How to correct cinema etiquette?
Posted by EnvironmentalCrow266@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 179 comments
Is it just me, or has cinema etiquette gotten way worse?
I don’t remember this being a problem 10 years ago, but lately there’s always someone with their phone screen on during the film. Not just quickly checking the time but full-on scrolling or even filming scenes for social media.
What’s worse is that calling it out doesn’t even work anymore. I’ve had to ask people multiple times to turn their screen off, and they just… don’t. Before, people would at least feel embarrassed and stop.
I’ve tried ignoring it, but once you notice it, it completely ruins the experience. I’ve even complained to staff, who agreed to check in but they never seem to catch it in the moment.
Has anyone else noticed this shift, or am I just getting more sensitive to it? And if you’ve found a way to deal with it without ruining your own night, I’m all ears.
Or am I being draconian in demanding phones completely off, I'm always made out as the evil one, in the wrong, judging from some indignant stares.
AltruisticFox8763@reddit
What do you mean how do you correct it? You don’t ???
You’re not a member of staff are you?
Just go and tell a member of staff as it’s not just your viewing experience being impacted.
EnvironmentalCrow266@reddit (OP)
I have done but the staff didn't catch it in action.
And_Justice@reddit
Still not your job
escapingfromelba@reddit
It's all our job.
And_Justice@reddit
It's the cinema's job lmao
escapingfromelba@reddit
No, the social contract has to be enforced by everyone. This notion of someone's job cannot work whether that's the cinema or bus or littering in the park.
And_Justice@reddit
Pray tell, who decides "the social contract" and who regulates it when a core of people start pushing it too far?
escapingfromelba@reddit
We all do, don't be obtuse. I'm hardly proposing some pub theory here. this is stuff with endless sociology material out there.
And_Justice@reddit
Who is "we all" in today's day and age? What happens when "we all" no longer agree on what "we all" think? Who decides which party is correct?
Who made you judge, jury and executioner?
escapingfromelba@reddit
That's address in my previous reply. You want me to type out an essay about something widely understood. Just google "what is the social contract" and come back to me with something sensible to say, this need to be argumentative isn't going to get a response.
AltruisticFox8763@reddit
I’m finding it quite funny that my reply got downvoted to hell and the thread is full of people trying to enforce the social contract and getting pissed off when people ignored them.
Talk to a member of staff - tell them who is doing it and what they’re doing and ensure they monitor it. That is literally their job.
escapingfromelba@reddit
My god this is tiresome, my comments in the chain above already explained why it isn't and you just ignored them. Frankly I don't see why you even jumped in.
Sure, some oafs might ignore complainers sometimes. But that isn't every time and you must know this and those downvoting you are probably seeing someone just being arguementative.
What your gotcha doesn't account for is the value speaking out brings in setting expectations for other people who haven't quite made the leap to being a dick or in how positive it is for other people to have others stand up and support what they are thinking. The reason that odd person stands out is because they are a minority, and that in of itself demonstrates that there is a social contract still in play.
As I said to the other person who also decided just to be a contrarian.
AltruisticFox8763@reddit
I replied because my original comment at the top of this thread got downvoted. The OP literally talks about how they do call people out and it isn’t working - so they asked ‘what do I do?’
You tell the members of staff at the cinema and hold them to account to do their job.
Your overall point is correct, but OP has done that already!
And_Justice@reddit
Why are you scared to address those questions?
mcnutty96@reddit
I go once a week and would say maybe once per year I run into these kind of problems to be honest.
I think they should have a rules and etiquette video come up before the film.
The Prince Charles shows the clip of Robert De Niro in Cape Fear and says to turn your phone off etc..
continentaldreams@reddit
Honestly I go to the cinema weekly and I haven't experienced any bad etiquette for years. You guys must go to shit cinemas lol
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
Presume that you go at quiet times of day because it's an endemic problem.
And_Justice@reddit
Saw Akira at 7pm on a Friday at showcase, no issues. True Blue at Broadway 8pm on a Thursday. No issues. 28 Days Later 7pm on a Wednesday, no issues.
It's not an endemic problem lmao you're just going to shit cinemas and looking to be pissed off.
glasgowgeg@reddit
A re-release of an almost 40 year old relatively niche film is not going to be representative of your average cinemagoing audience.
And_Justice@reddit
So? Don't see shit films, don't have to put up with shit people.
glasgowgeg@reddit
I'm pointing out your comparison isn't a very good one.
People who go out of their way to watch a re-release of a niche film several decades after it was released are not going to be an accurate representation of what going to the cinema is like now, regardless of genre.
You can simply accept your comparison is bad, you don't need to double down.
And_Justice@reddit
What comparison? I'm providing my experience. It is no more proof that the issue is endemic than any experience in this thread is proof of it.
glasgowgeg@reddit
Of audience behaviour.
Your example is not an example of the average audience, it's a niche re-release of a 40 year old film.
And_Justice@reddit
I don't see a comparison? I see a statement of my experience, a full stop and then a new sentence.
glasgowgeg@reddit
"It's not an endemic problem lmao you're just going to shit cinemas and looking to be pissed off"
You're saying they're "just going to shit cinemas", and comparing their experience to yours at a niche 40 year old re-release.
You're simply embarrassing yourself at this point.
continentaldreams@reddit
Nope, always after work or on weekends!
And_Justice@reddit
I'm convinced people are being paid to lie about social decline on reddit at this point
continentaldreams@reddit
I think it's just anecdotal stuff and they all think it happens to everyone because it happens to them
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
Different people have different experiences. Understanding and appreciating the whole is one of the best things that social media enables.
And_Justice@reddit
Note that I've been downvoted for this comment as well. I fucking hate UK reddit.
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
Whereabouts do you live?
moanybastard@reddit
What kind of cinema, chain or independent?
continentaldreams@reddit
Both - Vue, Showcase, Everyman, Odeon and local cinemas.
Jthw5@reddit
I agree. Since lockdown cinema etiquette has got diabolical. The last time I went to the cinema I had to go and get a member of staff because two teenagers had their phones out, recording parts of the film on Snapchat, scrolling with their screens on full brightness etc. Every time I’ve been for the last few years there’s been someone with their phone out, but never holding it up so blatantly to record the film.
SWTransGirl@reddit
Since COVID, a lot of people have main character syndrome now. It’s all about me, and only me.
From the way people drive, to queuing and films. It’s all about me now.
It’s a shame, but it is what it is. Try to ignore and move on.
jamnut@reddit
Having worked in retail before and after COVID, I don't believe it has changed much. Imo it's platforms like tiktok and similar others that allow it to be broadcast to the mainstream so we see more of people trying to be the main character.
The general public had their fair share of cunts before COVID, during COVID it amplified a bit, and then returned to the norm after
Pope_Khajiit@reddit
Every time a question like this is asked, Redditors always make out COVID is the cause. As if before 2020, everyone was amicable, lovely, and respectful. Then lockdown happened and now everyone is an asshole.
Like you say, COVID briefly amplified people's behaviour a little bit, but everyone went back to being themselves not long after. And unfortunately, the general public is full of pricks without empathy.
escapingfromelba@reddit
It's overblown, but I'd say you might be in danger of doing the too much of going the other way.
If we take queuing in pubs then we do seem to have a cohort of people who came of age who missed out on learning how to use a bar. Now perhaps the rise of ordering apps has prolonged it, but something is off since covid.
Mentioning apps, I would add the rise of online ordering, working from home and self-service tills where dealing with other people you don't know has perhaps caused people to be out of calibration more than yesteryear.
FlatCapNorthumbrian@reddit
Exactly the past 6 years in the terms of technology/app development and those few years where businesses were limited by lockdowns and restrictions have made people interact with others less.
Those people have either forgotten or never developed the basic social cues or niceties.
escapingfromelba@reddit
Inflection point is perhaps the jargon.
Covid was a cause for certain things in some people (youngsters often), but in other aspect it pulled forward technology that carried on distorting behaviour and spread it.
And_Justice@reddit
Thank you lol. Social decay propaganda on reddit is fucking incessant
blue_rizla@reddit
People also look back at “the good old days” when everything was great and nothing annoyed them, and amalgamate that in their heads as “pre-Covid”. Covid started more than 6 years ago, and the real lockdown restrictions where people were staying at home were a couple of weeks, twice, ending more than five years ago.
If you’re mid-30s now and things like cinema etiquette and people on their phone on the train and people trying to get on the bus before letting people off seem to be more noticeable and annoying than they used to “pre-Covid”, it’s probably not because of some enormous shift in the human psyche that has made “people these days” so awful, it’s probably because you’re comparing to the days when you were 25 and had a different outlook on life.
And_Justice@reddit
I wish people were self aware enough to realise that their yearning for the past is just a fear of getting old and that that fear is exploited constantly.
SWTransGirl@reddit
Ouch, thanks for your perspective.
I’ve not been in retail, but customer services so I know people can be tests. Pre COVID I was in office work (HR), and then during in the rail industry where I only saw those I worked with.
But I do remember driving was lush during Covid, quiet roads and nobody hassle.
Admittedly, I just hate people. 🤷♀️
jamnut@reddit
Imo customer services at any org is pretty much the same as retail. I've moved to essentially customer services of a website and deal with a particular industry - the customer stories are near enough the same, just revolve around said industry. Same shit, different bum hole
SWTransGirl@reddit
And different texture.
To be fair, I’m now self employed and still deal with delightful folk. Usually it’s the bigger clients pushing us around. So yep, same shit different smell.
grogipher@reddit
I have to disagree with this gently. I understand there are additional risks for our community (based on your username) but it's the idea of keep on turning a blind eye that makes it acceptable.
If we all keep demanding refunds, then maybe cinemas will actually do something about it, for example.
aReasonableStick@reddit
I would say that yes COVID has given people "main character syndrome" but a huge chunk of why people are like that is because their brains have been rotted by social media changing from being social media to giant content farm apps.
rezonansmagnetyczny@reddit
Corelation not causation.
I'd put my money on it being due to the rise in short form media content and the dwindling attention span of the population.
Most now can't even make it through a minute YouTube video without getting distracted. How are they going to stick out a 2 hour film?
We look at lock down as a pivot point, but behaviours like this were slowly creeping in prior to 2020 and we just forgot about them for two years.
Disgruntled__Goat@reddit
You can go back 10+ years and find this same Reddit post about cinema etiquette.
rezonansmagnetyczny@reddit
Blaming the 2008 recession.
Full-Quit7535@reddit
Filming in cinemas is against the law. If you encounter this situation next time, please call a member of staff to deal with it
jamnut@reddit
Cheers Geoff
franki-pinks@reddit
😂😂
JamJarre@reddit
They literally did call a member of staff. How did you fail to read their comment? It's not even that long
FogduckemonGo@reddit
I'm guessing it's a bot
FlatCapNorthumbrian@reddit
Cinemas need to go draconian for a while. Have staff in a screen just actively waiting to kick people out. Get kicked out more than once? Bar the twats.
TheSpeckleOne@reddit
I got to only IMAX viewings. More expensive means you're less likely to run into people who don't appreciate cinema as they won't pay double to see the same film.
Mylyfyeah@reddit
I had to tell two young women to stop talking yesterday as they were 3 seats away from me and I heard all of their conversation all the way through the trailers and they got louder if the trailer got louder. I waited till the movie started and then leaned over and told them to stop talking now.. she replied with “we can talk about the movie” so I said “yes, when it’s finished, not now”. and they shut up. absolutely no awareness that anybody else was in the theatre apart from themselves.
Redditisfuckincrap@reddit
I tend to go to more "classy?" Cinemas and never have this happen
Racing_Fox@reddit
What’s a ‘classy’ cinema?
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
One that charges extra for an identical experience so that their customers can feel "special".
BambiiDextrous@reddit
It's not about feeling special - it's about pricing out the miscreants. Anti social behaviour is much less likely to happen at a Curzon, Picturehouse or bougie independent cinema where tickets £15.
PangolinMandolin@reddit
I paid for the super fancy seats as a treat for my birthday. I swear to god, they were less comfortable than the regular ones! Odeon btw
cardiffman100@reddit
Odeon's seats are all the same. You pay for the location ie seats on particular rows are more expensive.
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
Are all ODEONs recliners now?
beefygravy@reddit
Like Everyman where you get a little sofa and they come round and you can order drinks that they deliver to your table
nonoanddefinitelyno@reddit
I have an unlimited pass at Everyman. I go mainly in weekdays mornings.
It's glorious. Hot chocolate and a sofa and we are often the only ones in there.
Vaniky@reddit
Yeah unfortunately you have to avoid cinemas like Vue who offer £5 tickets
Sinlightion@reddit
In my experience this is hardly ever a problem in independent cinemas, or cinemas chains like Everyman or Picturehouse, where the crowd is older and seems to appreciate the cinema experience. A lot of teenagers go to Odeon, Cineworld etc and these are the only places I've really seen people constantly talking or using their phones throughout the film, and that's always been the case.
franki-pinks@reddit
This is why I very rarely go to the cinema unless it’s a kids film with my youngest. Kids behave better during a film than adults do.
I’ve noticed it everywhere though. Cinema, theatre, comedy clubs. No one can sit down and shut the fuck up anymore.
escapingfromelba@reddit
I saw John Bishop a while back and he had to through a couple of people out.
They couldn't stop talking and gobbing off, not in as hecklers (he can handle those), but as if he were in Gogglebox and they were doing a commentary. He even did a whole off the cuff riff on him being real and that they were watching a live stage act to try and get them to understand why everyone sitting around them were getting agitated, but multiple times he ended up coming back to them until he had enough and had them ejected.
TheLoneEcho@reddit
I went to see David Gray at the Edinburgh Playhouse last year and there were two women behind us that did no shut up chatting.
I could hear them clearly over the person with the mic and amplifier on stage! It was ridiculous.
We got up to leave and I said that they are ruining it for everyone around them and they flipped me off!
I mentioned it to staff on the way out and they told us to wait and then found us a seat which was arguably the best seat in the house. We went from right at the top, to pretty much eye level with him.
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
In my own experience, kids behaviour has been the worst of the lot 😒
JayR_97@reddit
Remember those clips of kids trashing cinemas when the Minecraft movie cane out? It was mental
NeverCadburys@reddit
They need to bring Ushers back in and there needs to be more proactive staff. Part of the problem is, nobody really wants to be the one missing more of a film to go and get a member of staff, so the staff in the foyer don't know whats happening so the shit behaviour continues unless someone braves a conftontation.
All throughout the 90s and most of the 00s, there were staff in the screens. At some points they were there manning a trolley to sell sweets and were always eager to catch people out who'd brought their own or talking, but now they're not arsed about people bringing their own food in, the staff aren't in there.
I keep seeing projectionists say on social media they can see everything from their little room upstairs, so why aren't they letting the staff know that a group of people are ruining the film for others?
Like with everything, we all need to work together to keep a shared space usable and every link in the chain is currently broken. It's not gonna get better until the cinema actually do something effective. To the point of bans and police involvement if need be
escapingfromelba@reddit
The problem is the economics. I wonder how long many cinemas have left as they are so empty much of the time, the multi-plex seems less and less viable.
kettlejuices@reddit
I walked into the cinema last week to see someone eating a whole McDonalds meal and a half. I don't know how they got all that in without someone seeing. I'm not against people bringing their own food/snacks/drink, but a notoriously stinky food is pushing that a bit, I think!
NeverCadburys@reddit
Which cinema was it, out of curiosity? The Vue used to literally confiscate food but now say on their website snacks are welcome but, and i'm paraphrasing here, not strong smelling hot food. Followed by encouraging people to buy the hotdogs and whatever from them instead.
To be fair, with some hot food, I don't get the difference. If they're selling hotdogs and all the works, and nachos with pungent sauce, and limited edition crisps which smell strongly of fast food; a burger from McDonalds isn't going to smell that different
kettlejuices@reddit
This was a Cineworld. Interestingly there was a group of rowdy teens doing most of the things described many times in this thread at the same time.
GreatChaosFudge@reddit
How much are you currently paying for your cinema ticket? You realise that’s going to double because of the extra wage costs, don’t you?
NeverCadburys@reddit
If I go to the Vue, it has always been between £4.99 and £6.99, though I know the ones with the fancy chairs are now £8.99.
If I go to the Odeon, prices are between £8 and £20, depending on day, screen, and newness of film.
And if I go to the Picturehouse, it's about £10.
I know prices go up, but they used to be in screens when prices were lower - literally the Odeon's standard price was about £8 and half price on Tuesdays at £4, so I don't see how they can't put ushers in screens when the cost is more expensive. Surely the increase can be in ratio?
Fudge_is_1337@reddit
Not sure I follow the logic here. Why would ticket prices double based on adding a small number of staff?
Unless the cinema is currently employing a single person per shift, which doesn't match any cinema I've ever been to
PM-me-your-cuppa-tea@reddit
Because the people they're currently employing in each cinema are doing something.
And they're probably already understaffed. So now you want 13 of those people to stand in the screens. Ticket prices won't double, but they'll increase in price.
Cinemas are also already struggling a bit so raising prices isn't great for them.
Fudge_is_1337@reddit
The point I was pushing back on was really the "double in price", its just kind of a silly thing for the other person to say.
GreenhousePlum@reddit
I have been thinking a lot recently how 'how to be a decent human in public' etiquette has got really bad and strange lately in general.
My recent example is a trip to the local charity shops. A lady was browsing a section I wanted to see with her baby in a pram which was a bit annoying but like a normal person I thought 'never mind, I'll go look at this other section that's free then come back to this bit later' and moved to a different section with nobody in it. Once I'd started looking at the clothes there, a lady appears and starts trying to look at the very clothes I am looking through on the rail! In my head I thought 'No, that's not how this has ever worked' and thankfully she seemed to understand and moved.
When I was at the till, a man started loading up the things he wanted to buy right next to mine on the counter before the staff member had finished, I think he also possibly queue jumped. The same man later that day came up to the rail I was looking at and even almost walked into me on the street. It was all so irritating, frustrating and rude. People just didn't behave like this in the past, everyone understood how and why to behave, it was about manners and respect and politeness.
We're a small massively overcrowded island and it's important for us to behave in respectful ways because there simply isn't the room otherwise. I think there are several reasons why public behaviour has become so poor, and now unfortunately it's become normalised for the youth who never knew that it wasn't always like this.
I have noticed the same with driving - massive increase in aggressive tailgating. It's exhausting and I often avoid going out because of people's aggression, unpredictability and selfishness.
And_Justice@reddit
Firstly, we're not on a massively crowded island... we rank 48th on population density lol
Second, massive rise in agressive tailgating? Not something I've experienced - may I suggest there's a possible common factor at play there?
This rhetoric that society is devolving feels like an intentional push to benefit populists.
escapingfromelba@reddit
As a whole yes, but most people live in England and that's much higher up the table. Bin the micro states and it's even higher.
GreenhousePlum@reddit
I've just typed this into google and multiple sources state that we live on a densely populated island with over 67 million people and a density of 279 people per Km2. Shelter and other charities often state that overcrowding is housing is a big issue too, so we objectively do live on a densely populated, overcrowded island.
As for tailgating, the RAC launched an anti-tailgating campaign last year after the majority of Brits agreed it has become an increasing problem. The National Highways also said that tailgating is now a factor in 1 in 8 collisions, so again, it is objectively a problem.
But nice try trying to insult me just because the truth angers you.
grimking85@reddit
It is getting worse. Sometimes its the youth of today because society doesnt let parents discipline children anymore. But its also quite often (but not always) those who have come to our overcrowded island with a different opinion on manners than we are used to. I worked retail for 14 years and while i would like to say i have seen it all the last few years it just got worse and worse. So glad im out of retail now
Shimozah@reddit
Young people and immigrants? Holy Daily Mail.
GreatChaosFudge@reddit
There are texts from Ancient Rome which read almost identical to that person’s comment.
grimking85@reddit
Daily Mail? Never read it. I mean ok im getting downvoted but working in retail i only say what i have seen. And no its not all of them and yes likely a minority. But its the minority that get themselves noticed. A polish friend of mine has even said he is embarrassed by the behaviour of other polish people sometimes when he is out in town. But what we may see as rude may be seen as normal from people from other countries. And vice versa. Maybe we offend others by how we act. As for kids today a lot more now will act out than even just 10 years ago. So many dont care about manners swearing shouting making a mess on purpose. Though again you do see others acting like normal human beings. So not all.
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
The country isn't overcrowded. However, people's tolerance of others is sadly lacking.
yazshousefortea@reddit
You’ve summed it up really well here. The tailgating scares me. Especially when there’s no where you can change lanes or pull over. They’re putting lives at risk (including theirs!) to bully road users into letting them pass.
NeverCadburys@reddit
I say this everytime - I think it goes beyond forgetting social etiquette like they've been socially deconditioned, I genuinely think it's brain damage from Covid.
Sharp_Budget_4416@reddit
The only thing that's actually fixed it for me is going to the first showing on a Tuesday morning. Curzon on a weekday at 11am is basically empty, and the few people who are there have made an effort to be there, so phones stay in pockets. The trade-off is you're burning half a day off for a film, but compared to a £20 ticket getting wrecked by some teenager filming for TikTok it's the only version that still works.
Nitrogenflux@reddit
Honestly for me it's to expensive an experience to have it ruined by bored teenages with a unlimited monthly pass and no interest in the film. I have stopped going
escapingfromelba@reddit
The rise of the pass might be the big thing, I wonder if you'd identified a bigger change that people realise.
In effect there's a load of people in the room who aren't invested in making an occasion of being there and/or the actual film. It's very disposable so more like being at home with Neflix so they clown around more.
Kaioken64@reddit
Has it actually got that expensive in other parts of the UK?
Where I am two tickets comes to about £18 and that's for the VIP/Premier seats. As long as I go on a Tuesday or Wednesday that comes to £12 with a 2 for 1 code.
glasgowgeg@reddit
Those passes are typically only available to those 18+, you're not going to have "bored teenagers" using them to just sit and go on their phone.
rebelallianxe@reddit
I avoid the big cinemas now for the most part and just go to a small independent one.
My daughter had to leave a showing we were at and go and ask a staff member to come and speak to a group of 10 or so teenagers that were literally screeching at each other in the back row of one film recently.
doc1442@reddit
What about that unlimited monthly pass huh
awwwwJeezypeepsman@reddit
I just tap there shoulders and tell them to turn the phone off. If not, il just hit them with bits of popcorn every few minutes. Works a treat.
SuperDinkle406@reddit
I find it all depends on the movie and the cinema, there are just some I don't go to now as I know what it will be like. In the bad ones: phones ringing, eating kebabs, lots of talking, stuff being thrown and no one giving AF.
I am now very selective on where I go and what to see. Things have just changed culturally. Not all change is good.
lawebley@reddit
I told a couple of people who were old enough to know better to stop talking and be quiet and they answered, "Why?"
I was astounded.
After processing their response I said because this isn't your fucking living room and they had the audacity to call ME rude.
I left and got a refund.
Pen_dragons_pizza@reddit
I had the exact same thing with two men who must have been 60+
Sat right behind me and talking thr whole time, turned around to tell them to be quiet and they looked at me like as if I was some rude arsehole, then gave me attitude.
What world are these people living in, they were talking a good 20 minutes before I told them
aReasonableStick@reddit
almost 10 years ago I went to watch a Jurassic World movie with my brother, there were equal amount of kids and adults in the cinema and the most disruptive people there was this group of old people who were talking through the entire movie. I confronted them afterwards and they were VERY offended they proceeded to say "its a kids movie, and theres kids so its ok to talk" and my reply was "The kids? the ones in the front row seats? they were more behaved than you, the only time they said anything was to ask their parents to pass down the snacks and they did that once and the other times were to gasp at whats happening on screen!" The old people acted like I personally removed their triple lock pension.
Altruistic_Fruit2345@reddit
Was going to say, this isn't new, it was happening 10, 20 years ago too.
Garunya1@reddit
That's terrible, but I am glad to hear you got the refund!
Mundane_Pepper2238@reddit
Last film I watched in the cinema was Ballerina. The guys behind me were eating nuts... I'm not sure which kind but it was a type where you had to peel them. So much noise...
I haven't been back since. Can't be fucked. I have a Sonos sound system at home and a 75" OLED. I just wait for the films to become available and watch at home without the nonsense.
rl_stevens22@reddit
About 20 plus years ago in a packed cinema I could someone behind me giving a running commentary to their friend during the film. Had enough about half way through.
These days I tend to try for a day when the cinema is likely to be quieter
Sad_Cardiologist5388@reddit
It's the death of the social contract, individual interests are now overriding collective wellbeing.
How to correct it? A member of staff with a torch enforcing rules in every screen maybe or strictly no phone showings and relaxed showings. Like the quiet car on the train.
yazshousefortea@reddit
I’ve stopped going to the cinema completely now. I miss it but it’s too expensive to go and listen to other people talk, laugh, and play on their phones and not stop when you ask them politely.
Every time I think I’m overeating and go back, I have another terrible experience! It’s such a shame.
InsaneNutter@reddit
I do feel in more recent times we have just not had that many good films actually worth going to watch too. Historically I was always interested in various upcoming films.
People increasingly having there phones out with the screen on full brightness was becoming more of an issue even before Covid was a thing. I can only imagine its even more of an issue now.
_Odaeus_@reddit
Same here, I miss it. They need showings for considerate people only!
dorset_is_beautiful@reddit
It was a problem long before covid, and I dealt with it by completely stopping going to the cinema. I got tired of having to deal with the all the time. Didn't see any reason to spend all that money to have the experience ruined by entitled selfish morons.
Actually that's not quite true, I have been in the last year or so, to a boutique small cinema nearby that actually cares enough to enforce rules to stop the few spoiling it for the many. Probably that'll never happen at the main chains though.
Worldly_Wafer_6635@reddit
definitely worse.
I have astigmatism, so a phone screen in my peripheral vision is a huge distraction.
Theatre etiquette to, I went to see a comedian 2 weeks ago, and it was pub-level noise through the entirety of the opening act.
Difficult_Bad1064@reddit
Go find someone in the foyer and have them sort it.
coelakanth@reddit
I've done this in the past but it totally ruined the film for me
bacon_cake@reddit
I've said this above but this is why I've stopped going.
The whole point of paying the cinema is to watch the film in an environment conducive to watching films. If the cinema chains don't give a fuck about enforcing the rules that they play before every movie then I'm not going.
Racing_Fox@reddit
And miss the film, great
glasgowgeg@reddit
Yeah, much better to sit and get progressively angrier at someone using their phone the entire film.
Haircut117@reddit
Just grab the phone and launch it down to the front. Make them humiliate themselves to get it back.
Racing_Fox@reddit
The film is ruined either way, that’s the whole point of the post
glasgowgeg@reddit
It's not "ruined", stop being so melodramatic.
Racing_Fox@reddit
It is though isn’t it. The whole reason to go to the cinema over watching something at home is the atmosphere and immersion that comes from being sat in a silent dark room, dark scenes are so much more immersive in the cinema than at home. Having someone scrolling on their phone ruins that.
The cinema these days isn’t cheap, it’s absolutely fair for people to ask that you don’t ruin it for others by scrolling on your phone. If you’re that addicted to your phone then leave and scroll outside
glasgowgeg@reddit
You've misread my comment. I'm saying you leaving the screen for less than a minute to get someone doesn't ruin it.
bacon_cake@reddit
I hardly even go to the cinema any more for this reason.
I used to love my limitless card, but post-covid the experience is just shit. Phones on, people talking, taking in KFC.
Frankly the point of the cinema was; I pay to go to their establishment and their part of the bargain is to show me the movie and provide the environment in which to watch it. They're failing at the second part so I just gave up.
iamsheena@reddit
Whenever we go, it's like 9 or 10 AM on a Saturday or Sunday just to avoid the annoying people while still getting the cinema experience. Highly recommend. Even if it leads to popcorn at 10 AM (you don't have to get popcorn though).
Batalfie@reddit
I've only noticed it the once, when I was watching sinners the Old Lady next to me had her phone ring and then hung up and used it to check the time on full brightness a bit later on.
DameKumquat@reddit
I've given up on Odeon and Vue. They have an entire multiplex staffed by about 1.5 teenagers.
It went downhill when they got rid of staff with torches and no spare staff to sell tickets.
I don't go often, but it's worth going to a Picturehouse or Everyman, where the prices keep the teenagers out, the seats are comfy, and they sell cake and booze. Never had a behaviour problem. And a better choice of films.
MarilynManson2003@reddit
I go to the cinema between 6 and 20 times per month and I rarely ever encounter any poor cinema etiquette.
TheLoneEcho@reddit
I do think cinemas have a problem they need to solve regarding this. It happens too often.
I am glad to call it out when I see it, and have done loudly in the past. The irony is though, if no one else has seen/or is bothered by what I have seen then I am the one being disruptive.
It is easily solved, and all the cinema needs to do is have a person walking between screens and checking in every so often. If someone is caught messing about then kick them out.
Pause the film while you do it if you have to. Light on, make a scene. It'll soon stop once word gets around.
nuflybindo@reddit
I've been going to a range of different cinemas the last few years and have never had anything like this happen
Mrgonzouk@reddit
I just don't know how you can justify a full price cinema ticket and not even bother with the movie.
Chatting, scrolling or filming all feels like it's gotten worse. I've had a cinema pass since pre-covid so I go fairly regular but even with the discounted price I aim for off-peak as peak time is just unbearable.
gentlepersuasion420@reddit
The only way is to have proper ushers in the screen. Sitting in, policing and if appropriate ejecting miscreants. Not the odd teenage employee walking in every hour to take a look and being too shy to do anything.
Alternatively, we need something like Mr. X from resident evil 2 to walk in the screens when he hears someone doing something they shouldn't, and slap them with a big bag of wet shit.
jaxons_2@reddit
🥷
CoffeeandaTwix@reddit
Just went to the cinema this weekend and someone's phone was vibrating for a solid 30 minutes. I guess it was in a handbag but can't believe it wasn't bothering the owner of it.
Some dumb fuck was kicking my back on and off throughout the whole film. Ignored the first few times as I assumed it was a kid or teen. Couldn't believe it when I finally turned round and it was a man who looked in his 40s. Asked him to stop and he just looked confused like a dimwit.
Also couldn't believe at the end how so many people threw food on the floor... Like trays of nachos and cheese, popcorn etc. not placed neatly but hoyed so they landed upside down and spilt.
That said, I don't remember it being much better 20 or 30 years ago. There is no test to watch a film; any knuckle dragging ape is allowed in.
GreatChaosFudge@reddit
It genuinely wasn’t better 40 years ago. I remember a stink bomb being let off in a cinema when I was six. No, not by me.
Disgruntled__Goat@reddit
My nearest Odeon is pretty dead most of the time (and I mostly go to see smaller films like No Other Choice) so it’s pretty sweet. Any blockbusters I’ll watch a month later at my local theatre so again it’s fairly quiet, or full of old people who are actually respectful.
SarkyMs@reddit
We need to stop being passive, we have to start being active. Get staff involved demand a refund etc.
Silently tutting in tour seat isn’t going to fix anything.
Cirieno@reddit
Install mobile signal jammers.
Have staff who will step in, instead of just popping in occasionally wearing infra-red goggles.
Perma-ban people if feasible.
sihasihasi@reddit
Illegal in this country, as nice as that would be
vizard0@reddit
Big ass Faraday cages then.
sihasihasi@reddit
Indeed - should put the cinema in Tesco, that'd do it.
Haircut117@reddit
If they're unreceptive to a polite request then just launch their phone down to the front of the screen.
SeniorMoonlight21@reddit
I always hear this but I have never personally experience it badly
That being said, I do not go an see films until they have be out for about a week and I purposefully go to quieter cinemas and during the week when most people are working.
Only time it happened was an older guy in my row a seat away scrolling, I just leaned over and looked at his screen like a proper nosey prick. He put his phone away lmao.
DarthMori@reddit
Aah, this is the way. I'm so doing this next time!
FunkyYoghurt@reddit
Same. I'm lucky enough in my job that I could go to the cinema this morning in a couple of hours if I wanted to. Not been on a Saturday for years.
NeverCadburys@reddit
I just had an awful time last week seeing Project Hail Mary. The first hour was ruined by a bunch of kids messing around and talking and laughing between themselves, even running in and out of the screen. I had enough, cos it was happening near me and I really did keep thinking they'll stop now, they've put their phones down now so that's the end, they're all in separate seats, after army climbing over the backs of them they won't possibly egg each other on to do something else, they've left the room surely they won't come back in... And they came back in, Naruto ran to be specific , and it all started again, and I went and got someone. Who, to prevent backlash on me, waited another 15 minutes before coming in. They settled down for a while to nearly the end and then kicked off again with about 20 minutes left.
Now 2 times out of 5 viewings over the space of a year isn't that bad odds but when I was at the cinema at least once a month for 8 years, and this sort of shit hardly ever happened, it's obvious this is a common issue. You've just been lucky.
AromaticVacation3077@reddit
Cinema companies could start actually staffing their venues properly. Last time I went to my local multiscreen the lack of staff was almost creepy. I got my tickets from a machine and they were checked by the one single staff member who was behind the snacks counter. Other than that the place was completely deserted. Luckily it wasn't some zombie apocalypse film. That's what the place felt like.
moanybastard@reddit
The whole cinema experience has been downgraded to the point where I very rarely go (and every time I do, vow never to again).
Ushers.... Intervals.... Both made the experience so much more enjoyable.
moonbug22@reddit
yea it was good in the 80s
And_Justice@reddit
I've not experienced this so called decline in cinema etiquette that reddit is hellbent on thusfar...
Go to different cinema is and stop watching films that teenagers watch at times teenagers go to the cinema is how you fix it
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
Other people's experiences are equally valid.
It would be of interest to see a recording of audience behaviours from 40 years ago to compare whether the decline is perception or reality.
And_Justice@reddit
Didn't say they're not valid but I tire of the constant implication that society has somehow devolved since covid. Shit's fine.
moonbug22@reddit
It's time to go to upmarket
OK_Cake05@reddit
I tell people, that seems to work. I don’t think people realise even with whispering, how loud they actually are. If it does not stop, I tell them again. After that I would get an usher.
Competitive-Active78@reddit
Twice I've had teenagers running around / talking during the film. After a while, I had enough and shouted for them to stfu, and they sat firmly quiet after that.
ActionBirbie@reddit
AI Bot parsing and rewording threads from less than 24 hours ago:
https://www.reddit.com/r/AskUK/comments/1sw1jgf/audience_etiquette_in_2026_is_it_declining/oiccxjd/
EnvironmentalCrow266@reddit (OP)
Not a bot, just been to the cinema 5 times since December and seen the same thing every time: phones everywhere.
At £18.99 a seat at Vue, it’s a joke. And honestly, if that’s where we’re at, I’m not bothering with local theatre.
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
It's £5.99 at our local cinemas.
sha_42@reddit
It tends to be an issue in the evenings with bored teenagers. I try and go to morning or early afternoon showings to avoid this.
pseudonomdeplume@reddit
Went to see the last Alien film and about ten minutes into it, some arsehole comes in, turns the torch on his phone on and proceeds to find his seat by going the long way around - ie in front of the screen with his torch.
I shouted and asked him to turn it off and he told me to shut up - I spent the rest of the film fuming at him.
PiesPiesAndPies@reddit
If you get chance, attend daytime screenings. I've not found problems at those.
However, late afternoons through the evenings are another matter. I just don't go at those times any more 😒
elmundio87@reddit
I started voting with my wallet and reduced the amount of times a year I go to the cinema.
Viking-Bastard-XIV@reddit
Only time I’ve ever had an issue is in my local one, there was a couple (at least 35yo) who giggled like little children at the start of the film. They were trying to tickle each other, and messing about. A quick (shut the fuck up) shout at them stopped it.
Other than that, my local is pretty damn good.
socialistchampers@reddit
You just have to say “excuse me can you be a little bit more quiet/put your phone away it’s very distracting”. I generally get very polite reactions from people on this
Kizzieuk@reddit
If everyone ask for their money back they would put a stop to it.
Candid-Bike-9165@reddit
Just got back from the cinima there were 0 problems
ceeearan@reddit
Were they serving bean soup there?
partywithanf@reddit
That’s not what the means.
sihasihasi@reddit
Something really clever (to them)
n3m0sum@reddit
Go straight to staff and ask them to sort it out.
If they don't, go to a manager and demand a refund.
To be fair to my local cinema, I've never had to go to the manager. But I've had staff get a manger to throw people out. Once was a couple of parents spoiling a kids film, so their kids were thrown out with them!
It's absolutely gotten worse.
IcyPuffin@reddit
Yoy are not being unreasonable or draconian in wanting phones off in cinemas. They just shouldnt be on, there is no need for them to be on.
I get the fact that there are times when it might be necessary to be contactable - for example if you are out and need rhe babysitter to be able to contact you in an emergency. But the phone can be put on silent and set to vibrate only. Put in a pocket and if it did go off just leave the theatre and call them back. Simple. I used to do this when i was in this situation. I would even block all numbers except the sitter to minimise disruption further.
Its sad that people are so addicted to thier phones that they cant even go a couple hours without looking at it. Its one thing that puts me off the cinema.
Tricky_Meat_6323@reddit
Literally happened to me yesterday. Watching the Michael Jackson movie. Family walks in with 4 kids under 5. All running around screaming. No amounts of “shush” or “quiet please” did anything. The father even shouted back at people threatening them to be quiet.
OriginalMandem@reddit
make a loud hissing sound like a cornered feral cat
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