# Have you Been Back To the Movies? How was it? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [July 10, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171 "2021-07-10T17:58:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/1 "2021-07-10T17:58:50Z")
During the lockdown I missed seeing movies in the theater the most. I was worried the entire business would collapse and I am happy they seem to have made it through. Now that I am fully vaccinated and a big chunk of my state is vaccinated I feel like it is safe to try again. I have tickets to see Black Widow next weekend (a variety of reasons didn’t allow me to see it this weekend). This will be my first time in a theater since February or early March of 2020 I am wondering if anyone else has already gone back and if so how was it? Was it crowded? Were people masked? Any experience is appreciated. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![peccavi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peccavi/32/388_2.png) [@peccavi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/peccavi)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/2 "2021-07-10T21:07:42Z")
I’ve been going to movies in theaters since Los Angeles County allowed them to reopen. The first few months everyone was masked and the theaters were socially distanced at about 25% capacity. But I managed to see all the Best Picture nominees onscreen before the awards. To date, I’ve seen 40 movies in 2021. In the last month, the theaters have been allowed to book to 100% capacity and masks for the vaccinated are optional. My subjective experience is that the theaters are slowly growing attendance, but aren’t back to pre-pandemic attendance. I’d guess that about 20-30% of the audience is masked still. I just saw Black Widow in AMC IMAX. It was the noon show on Friday and I’d guess that the theater was about 3/4 full. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/3 "2021-07-10T23:12:06Z")
My kids and I saw Black Widow on Thursday night. It was great! No lineups for snacks. At all. Theatre was about 95% empty but those of us who came had a good time. I think it’s going to take a while for theatres back up to speed. ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2021, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/4 "2021-07-10T23:32:18Z")
Mom and I have been to three movies so far: _Cruella,_ _Jerry Maguire,_ and _In the Heights_. As you can imagine, we were the only people in the theater for the 25-year-old _Jerry Maguire_. There were less than 10 people for the other movies; masks optional. We had a good time, aside from the fact that Mom slipped and fell before _Cruella_. We’re gonna go see _The Great Muppet Caper_ next month. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2021, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/5 "2021-07-11T04:36:50Z")
We’ve watched three films in the theater in recent months after a break of more than a year: _Minari_, _Wrath of Man_ and _In the Heights_. Seating in the theaters here is limited, and there were noticeably fewer customers. Masks are required to be worn except when eating or drinking. ---
**Author:** ![Biffster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biffster/32/339_2.png) [@Biffster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2021, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/6 "2021-07-11T04:47:54Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We’ve watched three films in the theater in recent months after a break of more than a year: _Minari_ , _Wrath of Man_ and _In the Heights_ . Seating in the theaters here is limited, and there were noticeably fewer customers. Masks are required to be worn except when eating or drinking. Masks totally optional now in Edmonton, Alberta. That’s in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![amaguri](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@amaguri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amaguri)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2021, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/7 "2021-07-12T19:36:48Z")
Went to see Black Widow in a theater about half full. The experience was a great reminder of why I love and loathe movie theaters equally… I like that people are enthusiastic about movies and I enjoy the communal experience, but damn if people do not know how to SHUT UP during a film. It’s crazy to me that people would pay to see a movie and then just talk through the whole thing! ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/8 "2021-07-18T03:37:51Z")
In the autumn, I saw _Tenet_ and _The Personal History of David Copperfield_ in the theater. Social distancing measures were in place and I kept the mask on the whole time. Two seats were kept unoccupied between each person or group. But there were still a decent number of people in the audience. Today I saw _Black Widow_ in the theater, a week after its premiere. This was in the biggest auditorium in the multiplex (an XD theater, in Cinemark language) and can seat around 450 people. There were about a dozen people other than me (I watched to see how many entered after me). I kind of miss the social experience of seeing a movie with a big crowd. We’re clearly not there yet. ---
**Author:** ![Rata\_Sum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rata\_Sum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rata_Sum)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/9 "2021-07-18T05:01:41Z")
I saw Black Widow with my brother on Thursday night. The theater was about 1/3 full. No masks but we were all spread out. It was nice. Sitting through the trailers and listening to other people laugh and talk I thought, "This is nice. This feels like things are getting back to “normal”. It put me in a good mood all through yesterday. We plan on going again soon to see Jungle Cruise. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/10 "2021-07-18T05:49:53Z")
Back in May I went to see Lawrence of Arabia at the Texas Theater. For a retro roadshow film at the tail of the pandemic, it was well attended. At least 20-25 folks in the theater. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2021, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/11 "2021-07-18T21:58:19Z")
> [@Rata\_Sum](#): > > We plan on going again soon to see Jungle Cruise. I bought a ticket yesterday for the opening weekend for Jungle Cruise. I’m _hoping_ it works as well as the first of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. ---
**Author:** ![Rata\_Sum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a698b9/32.png) [@Rata\_Sum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rata_Sum)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2021, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/12 "2021-07-19T02:02:47Z")
I’m interested to hear if you like it. I enjoy The Rock in the movies he is in and a search for a magical doo-dad story is always fun. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/13 "2021-08-11T16:13:52Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > We’ve watched three films in the theater in recent months after a break of more than a year: _Minari_ , _Wrath of Man_ and _In the Heights_ . Seating in the theaters here is limited, and there were noticeably fewer customers. Masks are required to be worn except when eating or drinking. And we’re back to no movies. When I wrote the post above, Hawaii was showing about 50 cases a day. Now it’s consistently several hundred a day, the worst figures for the entire pandemic so far. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/14 "2021-08-11T16:47:58Z")
I, like many here4 it seems, went to see Black Widow. The theater had about 10-20 people, nicely spaced. Popcorn was good. They still honored by Harkins Popcorn card, even though I haven’t been to a movie since, I think, January 2020. That was nice. But as this is AZ, I don’t trust the other movie goers. I don’t think I’ll go again for quite some time. The only other movie I really would have missed was WW1984, so I bought it on BluRay, sight unseen. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/15 "2021-08-11T17:14:49Z")
Another “I went and saw Black Widow” post. But far from “wanting the experience of the crowds”, I went on Fandango and shopped around til I found a theater and a time where all the seats were empty. Well, I got there, picked the perfect seat and _whattheheck?_ another couple walked in. _Hellooo, I was under the impression this was a private screeeening…_ Then they sat down. Yep, right behind me. Ewww… I imagined their disease-ridden exhalations wafting over me. And not just Covid; I could smell Dengue Fever, the Yips, terminal Twisties, and some highly communicable DouchebagDisease. So I moved way down front, which made it even more of a “can’t get this feeling at home” event. Much fun! ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/16 "2021-08-11T18:18:59Z")
I saw Black Widow last weekend and the movie wasn’t very good, but the theater seemed fine. Mostly empty, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/17 "2021-08-11T18:37:18Z")
I saw it one week after it opened and there was maybe a dozen people there. Really pathetic, though I realize what Scarlet Johannson was upset about. ---
**Author:** ![veryfrank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/87869e/32.png) [@veryfrank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/veryfrank)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2021, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/18 "2021-08-11T18:59:23Z")
I’ve been to a handful. I was alone in the theatre for F&F9 and was one of two people for Snake Eyes (sweet Jeebus was that one bad). I’m really missing the joy of an opening-weekend crowd for a big dopey superhero movie, for sure. I’m also saving money, considering that new releases are up to like $30 to stream through the Cineplex site for the first month or so of release. Right now my fingers are crossed that our local vaccination rates keep theatres open long enough to see the new James Bond flick in IMAX. That’s my most-anticipated fall moviegoing experience. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/19 "2021-08-12T03:48:34Z")
Well I’ve now seen 12 movies since I started going again in July. Most of those have been in either Dolby recliners, so the seats are spread out in general, or in regular showings that are empty to half full. “The Suicide Squad” at Lincoln Square IMAX on opening night was the first one I’ve been to that has been pretty solidly full. (Though one seat right next to me was open even though it showed as sold, which was nice!) It was pretty fun having that big opening crowd again. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2021, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171/20 "2021-08-12T12:36:13Z")
Exactly; I was looking forward to seeing a blockbuster movie in a full theater with hundreds of (one hopes vaccinated) strangers. It was fun in the before times. But both Black Widow and Jungle Cruise had very few attendees, despite being the kind of big movie that ought to attract a crowd. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-been-back-to-the-movies-how-was-it/946171.md?page=2)