# Do Theatres Run the Movie if No One is There? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 18, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830 "2003-12-18T19:35:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Magickly\_Delicious](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magickly\_Delicious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magickly_Delicious)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830/21 "2003-12-21T17:16:11Z")
Two friends and I once went to see _The Watcher_ at a theater in our small college town, and we ended up being the only ones there. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2003, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830/22 "2003-12-21T20:43:26Z")
Many rears ago, you would walk intio a theatre at any time, and the featured film would be running. You could stay as long as you wanted…and see the film end to end. When did this practice stop? Was it because of the advertising that they tack onto the fron of every film today? ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 7:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830/23 "2003-12-22T07:58:50Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by ralph124c \* > \*\*Many rears ago, you would walk intio a theatre at any time, and the featured film would be running. \*\* Ah, yes, the memory of so many rears… Anyway, saw **A.I.** with about 4 other patrons in San Francisco. It was in a HUGE theater, maybe 700 seats… an interesting experience… hrh ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830/24 "2003-12-22T08:39:31Z")
I’ve shown up late for movies before only to find a completely empty theater. I also live in a small town, so this isn’t all that uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![Badtz\_Maru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e36b37/32.png) [@Badtz\_Maru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Badtz_Maru)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830/25 "2003-12-22T09:29:57Z")
I went to see a movie with a friend. We had movie passes, and wanted to see ‘The Full Monty’. They weren’t accepting passes for ‘The Full Monty’, so we got tickets to ‘The Game’, which was running at app. the same time, then we ducked into the theater that ‘The Full Monty’ was playing in and waited. And waited. After a while we realized they weren’t going to show the movie, because nobody had bought tickets - it was showtime and the lights were still on. So we went and saw ‘The Game’ instead. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2003, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830/26 "2003-12-22T20:13:37Z")
I nipped down to see the last showing of _Veronica Guerin_ – 9:30 or so on a Thursday and it was gone the next day. 80-seat theater (the smallest they had) with no one but me there, and I got in on a pass. Made money on the soda and popcorn, though. DD [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-theatres-run-the-movie-if-no-one-is-there/219830.md?page=1)