# Applause at the end of movies? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816 "2004-06-30T02:13:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trigonal\_Planar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/0ea827/32.png) [@Trigonal\_Planar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trigonal_Planar)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/1 "2004-06-30T02:13:08Z")
I just got back from seeing Troy. This is a movie that has had a generally negative publicity - tonight it was playing to a full house and at a second run theatre. It garnered a wave of applause from the audience at the end. Prior to tonight, the last movie I experienced this at was Jack Black’s School of Rock. How many others have experienced the clapping audience phenomenon? How often would you say it occurs? What was the last movie you were at to see this happen? Why does it occur? I find this to a be very interesting movie-going event and would like to hear some doper discussion on this topic. I’d be interested also to hear your opinion on applause vs. movie goodness. I haven’t had enough applause incidents (I can only remember these two times I’ve mentioned, ever) to extrapolate any kind of correlation. ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/2 "2004-06-30T02:20:36Z")
I liked Troy for the visual effects and for Eric Bana (mrrreeeooowww!). I did clap at the end of the movie. More because I was impressed with the overall look of the film, rather than the acting (I thought Brad Pitt sucked ASS…he phoned in his performance). We clapped at Shrek 2 and the little kids joined in - but we LOVED that movie:D. We both crack up each time we even _mention_ the Puss-in-Boots face (I do a pretty good impression of it, actually;)). I happily started clapping at the credits without delay. And there was clapping at the end of Harry Potter, but I figured it would happen with how much anticipation there was for the film. Since I wasn’t all that impressed with the last one (storywise, not acting or visually), it was basically a Pavlov’s dog response for me - movie ends, audience claps, I join in. It’s very rare that I’ll start applause. But I think for a lot of people, it’s for highly-anticipated movies and that clapping is just a sort of release as in “Hey, the movie’s finally here, I saw it, yay!”. It was a combination of that and “This movie rocks!” for Shrek 2. Ava ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/3 "2004-06-30T02:21:57Z")
It’s happened a number of times but the only one that really stands out in my mind is **Apollo 13**. Actually, we were applauding as soon as it became clear that the astronauts had survived the dangerous re-entry. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/4 "2004-06-30T02:30:56Z")
The last film I remember clapping at was _Chicago_ – the whole audience was applauding. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/5 "2004-06-30T02:33:44Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > **Apollo 13**. Actually, we were applauding as soon as it became clear that the astronauts had survived the dangerous re-entry. So… any idea why I find that silly? 😉 This one time, this girl asked me about _Ghandi_ and I told her he dies and SHE GOT MAD… 😕 as to the OP, just about any first showing of a geek film (Trek, Wars, LotR) gets applause. Yeah, I’m a geek, too. And **Viva** is my wife. Who I’ve seen naked! Okay, not really… ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/6 "2004-06-30T02:46:36Z")
It’s one thing if you’re at a premier and the Director is in the audience or something. Other than that, I always thought it was a stupid thing to do. Of course it’s totally harmless so I have no grounds to complain. A friend of mine is a movie clapper. She said that the group in the theater does it because they just went through an experience together. It’s hard to imagine anything more impersonal than sitting in a dark room watching the same thing and not interacting at all but that was her explanation. I guess I’m just a grump. Haj ---
**Author:** ![Astacey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f05b48/32.png) [@Astacey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Astacey)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/7 "2004-06-30T02:48:04Z")
I know I have applauded at the movies before, but I can’t for the life of me think of when or what movie. Strangely enough, there have been quite a few times in which I felt odd walking away from a great movie without applauding. Kind of like I wasn’t giving it ‘it’s due’. ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/8 "2004-06-30T02:48:45Z")
The last time I saw it happen was at Trilogy Tuesday when I watched all three of the LOTR movies back to back. Before that it was _Chicago_. ---
**Author:** ![Askia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@Askia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askia)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/9 "2004-06-30T03:21:31Z")
I clapped vigorously after seeing _Fahrenheit 9/11_, and gave a rousing “Vote his ASS out!”, which got me some applause. And a phone number. ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/10 "2004-06-30T05:40:02Z")
The first showing (of three) I attended of The Passion of the Christ. ---
**Author:** ![Hot\_Buttered\_Toast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b38774/32.png) [@Hot\_Buttered\_Toast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hot_Buttered_Toast)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/11 "2004-06-30T05:44:51Z")
Well, the last time I can actually remember the audience clapping was at Return of the King. Oh, and The Iron Giant. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/12 "2004-06-30T06:03:14Z")
I always surprised at how many people are surprised by people clapping at the end of a movie. I’d say it happens at about 75% of the movies I see in a crowded theater. I never saw anything wierd or unusual about it. ---
**Author:** ![Ruby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/13edae/32.png) [@Ruby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruby)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/13 "2004-06-30T06:20:30Z")
I don’t believe I’ve ever been in a movie theater when the audience broke out into spontaneous clapping after the film… and I go to a lot of movies. Maybe it’s a regional thing? ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/14 "2004-06-30T06:49:52Z")
Post-movie applause tends to break out in around 10% of the movies I go to – generally, only if the movie is _really_ good. **Fahrenheit 9/11,** on the other hand, is the _only_ movie I’ve been to that got a _standing_ ovation at the end. ---
**Author:** ![SolGrundy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbce88/32.png) [@SolGrundy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SolGrundy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 7:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/15 "2004-06-30T07:41:04Z")
The last time I saw a movie where people applauded was the opening night of _The Return of the King_. And the applause was in multiple places – during the battle scene, especially Eowyn’s scene, and then at the (final) ending before the credits. The funniest I’ve seen was at the opening night of _Star Wars: Episode I_. The audience was applauding like mad at the beginning, even cheering for the Lucasfilm logo. By the end, everyone just seemed kind of sad. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/16 "2004-06-30T08:29:02Z")
They applauded at the midnight viewing of [_Spiderman 2_](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=264088) . ;j ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/17 "2004-06-30T10:49:16Z")
> [@Ruby](#): > > I don’t believe I’ve ever been in a movie theater when the audience broke out into spontaneous clapping after the film… and I go to a lot of movies. Maybe it’s a regional thing? It happens all the time in Chicago at all the theaters we go to. If it’s a good movie, it’s unusual if there isn’t clapping. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 11:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/18 "2004-06-30T11:33:39Z")
It’s a bit weird because there’s no-one to appreciate it. But if the audience wants to show its appreciation anyway, why not? I’ve clapped about twice, and wanted to but no-one else did about twice (UK). At the beginning of ROTK the ~40 people I went with stood up and faced west\* for a moment of silence. Well, faced one direction. We had a big argument later about if we’d got it right. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 12:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/19 "2004-06-30T12:44:10Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > It’s happened a number of times but the only one that really stands out in my mind is **Apollo 13**. Actually, we were applauding as soon as it became clear that the astronauts had survived the dangerous re-entry. Thats the only movie I ever heard applause at, at the same point too. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816/20 "2004-06-30T12:46:51Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > It’s a bit weird because there’s no-one to appreciate it. Thats precisely why I found it weird the one time I saw it happened. I always saw clapping as a communication to the performers that their work was enjoyed. Unless it’s to congratulate the person in the projector booth for successfully changing reels, it’s kind of pointless. But hey, if it makes folks feel good, go for it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/applause-at-the-end-of-movies/252816.md?page=2)