# How Many Movies Do You Watch IN THE THEATRE? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 8, 2010, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866 "2010-11-08T03:55:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Raygun99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Raygun99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raygun99)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/41 "2010-11-08T15:59:58Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I’m always amazed when people complain about this stuff, because I never see it. I think maybe once in my life I’ve had a problem with people talking during the movie. > > I wonder if this is a cultural or regional thing. I would say 95% of the time I never have a problem with other theatre goers. The other 5% are doozies. One time a guy was drunk and shouting things out in the theatre. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/42 "2010-11-08T16:05:38Z")
Man, I want to live in one of these magical places where people don’t act like rude assholes in a movie theater. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/43 "2010-11-08T16:07:32Z")
I’ll see Harry Potter in the Theater later this month. Before that I think the last movie I saw in the Theater was Harry Potter 6. It’s pretty much Pixar (sometimes) and Harry Potter. Back when Lord of the Rings was new we saw that in the theater too. When Harry Potter ends, I think our movie going trips will pretty much end. Pixar films don’t really need the big screen (We aren’t sold on 3D). ---
**Author:** ![salinqmind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3ec8ea/32.png) [@salinqmind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/salinqmind)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/44 "2010-11-08T16:08:20Z")
Something like Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, or Titanic NEEDS to be seen on the big screen, initially. Staring into my laptop or watching a movie on TV a few minutes here or there while doing chores isn’t the same. The only things that bother me in a theater are tall people plonking themselves down right in front of me, or the need to get up and find the restroom. I can go without food and drink a couple hours. Unless someone else is buying! ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/45 "2010-11-08T16:32:29Z")
I don’t think that it’s regional. The other night I was at the movies with someone who complained that the previous bunch of times she went, people talked all around her. But that night the audience was well behaved. It seems that I go to movies that attract older, more sophisticated movie goers. Maybe that’s the difference. But not long ago I saw _Clash of the Titans_, and it was a very full theatre with no talkers. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/46 "2010-11-08T16:39:36Z")
Movies are overproduced, overstaffed, overhyped, overrated and just plain idiotic. Hollywood’s a bunch of insider butt buddies who don’t have a single original thought between them. Nearly all actors are hired based solely on their looks. What in God’s name is there to like unless you’re just a numbnuts who likes to be dazzled with bullshit? It really escapes me. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2010, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/47 "2010-11-08T16:41:44Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Man, I want to live in one of these magical places where people don’t act like rude assholes in a movie theater. I guess I live in one of those magical places. Note the number of movies I’ve seen so far this year, 260. You’d think my percentage of problems would be higher, but I can count on one hand the number of problems I’ve had like those mentioned _in the past 5 years_. Hell, _10 years_. I think people bring on their own problems somehow, maybe by the types of movies they see, and when they go see them, and where they sit. I also think some people expect problems, so they get them, and magnify them. Maybe I’m blaming the victim but damn, as many movies as I see, I never hardly ever have any of these problems. Thank goodness. [QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] And so many movies are just not worth watching. [/QUOTE] People who say this are either unfortunate enough to live in places where the selection is very narrow and limited, and/or have very narrow and limited taste in movies themselves. I’m lucky, I realize, because I live in a place where the selection is vast and deep. I miss more good movies than I see. Plus it helps that I have very eclectic taste in movies. I can go from a 1930’s screwball comedy to a big blockbuster sci-fi to an arthouse experimental film in the same day, and enjoy all of them. [QUOTE=Lynn Bodoni] It’s always been like this [/QUOTE] It’s never been like this. There are always decent-to-good-to-great movies to see, even in the sticks. You just don’t have as many to choose from. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/48 "2010-11-08T17:02:42Z")
> [@](#): > > People who say this are either unfortunate enough to live in places where the selection is very narrow and limited, and/or have very narrow and limited taste in movies themselves. I’m lucky, I realize, because I live in a place where the selection is vast and deep. I could see a much wider variety of movies if I was willing to spend up to 90 minutes traveling to Dallas. Being me, I’d have to allow for up to an additional 90 minutes of being lost, backtracking, calling home, and finally finding the damn place. A lot of movies are released in Dallas, but not Fort Worth, and frankly, I’m not all that anxious to spend three to four hours of travel time to see a movie. The feeling is that Fort Worthers won’t want to see the better movies\*, so the better movies are mostly only offered in the Dallas theaters. We get a few of the better movies if they’re blockbusters, but many movies are only shown in Dallas theaters. \*My definition of a better movie is one where there are no car crashes or scenes full of blood. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/49 "2010-11-08T17:03:52Z")
> [@Equipoise](#): > > I think people bring on their own problems somehow, maybe by the types of movies they see, and when they go see them, and where they sit. I also think some people expect problems, so they get them, and magnify them. Maybe I’m blaming the victim but damn, as many movies as I see, I never hardly ever have any of these problems. Thank goodness. How’s the view from that high horse? We’re not making this shit up. People do bring young children to inappropriate movies, play with their backlit phones during the movie, yack over the dialogue, wander around the theater, etc., and good luck getting them to stop or finding an employee to do it. I fail to see how my polite attendance somehow makes these people behave this way. ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/50 "2010-11-08T17:44:50Z")
The last theater trip we made was for Up, and it had already been out for quite a while. Of course, since then we had a baby, which pretty much makes it impossible for us to go. We’re even about to cancel our Netflix completely, because we just never have a two hour chunk of time where we’re awake enough to watch a movie and don’t have something more important to do. It’s not too much of a blow, though, because our local theater is awful - we saw Star Trek there, and I’m fairly sure it had one working speaker. The nearest decent place is a 45 minute drive away. So it’s downloading and watching shorter stuff for now. We might see Harry Potter over Christmas when we’re visiting family, aka free babysitting. ---
**Author:** ![Jack\_Batty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jack_batty/32/3201_2.png) [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/51 "2010-11-08T17:45:30Z")
> [@An\_Arky](#): > > Movies are overproduced, overstaffed, overhyped, overrated and just plain idiotic. Hollywood’s a bunch of insider butt buddies who don’t have a single original thought between them. Nearly all actors are hired based solely on their looks. What in God’s name is there to like unless you’re just a numbnuts who likes to be dazzled with bullshit? It really escapes me. Golly, I bet you don’t even own a TV either, like all the rest of us ignorant rubes. ---
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/52 "2010-11-08T17:51:41Z")
I believe I’ve been to the theater three times in the past five years. No coincidence that my daughter turns five in a couple of weeks. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/53 "2010-11-08T18:53:26Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > They’ve got a come tax now? _Oh, Jeebus, the Tea Partiers were right!_ Touché my friend. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/54 "2010-11-08T18:56:11Z")
I’m lucky because I’ve lived in areas that had “second run” theatres - places that show movies a few weeks old at steeply discounted prices. Last five movies I saw in a theatre: _Machete_, _Despicable Me_, _Toy Story 3_, _Scott Pilgrim vs the World_, and _Iron Man 2_. ---
**Author:** ![fusoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecccb3/32.png) [@fusoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fusoya)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/55 "2010-11-08T19:00:56Z")
In this day & age, I only see a movie in a theater if a. I’m visiting with family, and we’re bored (and they’re paying) b. there’s a new action or 3D movie which I want to see and know needs to be seen in a real theater (or a horror/comedy film which would benefit from the sights and sounds of a minority theater) so far I’ve seen the following films in a theater in 2010: Kick-Ass (b) Toy Story 3 (a&b) The Social Network (a) Piranha 3D & The Expendables (double feature) Saw 3D (b) I was planning on seeing Hatchet 2 in theaters, until I realized the only one in NYC showing it is the AMC on 42 St that’s infested with bedbugs. Film-going is just too damn expensive in NYC. $12.50 for a regular film, $16.50 for a 3-D. Screw that. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/56 "2010-11-08T19:31:09Z")
I used to go to movies maybe once or twice a month, so maybe 15 or 20 times a year. But now I’ve got a baby son, so I can barely get out of the house for any kind of entertainment at all, so when I can I’d rather do it for live entertainment (concerts, theater, musicals), which I enjoy more. I did see one movie in the past year when my parents babysat for us. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/57 "2010-11-08T20:20:41Z")
> [@Jack\_Batty](#): > > Golly, I bet you don’t even own a TV either, like all the rest of us ignorant rubes. I don’t know about you, but _I’m_ such an ignorant rube that not only do I go to the movies and own a TV, but also drink domestic wine, enjoy eating at Ruby Tuesday, and don’t have a Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods anywhere in my vicinity! :eek: 😛 ---
**Author:** ![svrider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@svrider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/svrider)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/58 "2010-11-08T20:31:35Z")
Voted never or almost never. I only go if I’m invited as some part of a social event at work. I much prefer watching movies at home where I am able to pause, not wear pants etc. ---
**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:** [November 8, 2010, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/59 "2010-11-08T20:32:38Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > How’s the view from that high horse? > > We’re not making this shit up. People do bring young children to inappropriate movies, play with their backlit phones during the movie, yack over the dialogue, wander around the theater, etc., and good luck getting them to stop or finding an employee to do it. I fail to see how my polite attendance somehow makes these people behave this way. IIRC, \*\*Equipose \*\*always sits in the very front row of the theater so no shit she never notices people looking at their cell phones, talking to each other and all the other annoying shit they do. _I can’t see anything that’s happening behind me therefore it never happens!_ :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866/60 "2010-11-08T20:39:40Z")
> [@Scarlett67](#): > > Only 2 or 3 tops. Not crazy about a lot of the offerings, and people don’t know how to behave in a theater anymore. It’s gotta be something we want to see once on a big screen. Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, that sort of thing. Once in a great while it’ll be something we just don’t want to wait for the DVD. > > When we do go, we try to go to the last showing on a Sunday or a weeknight, or maybe a midweek matinee, to try to minimize the number of jerks in the theater. Exactly. I work for myself and it give me a lot more flexibility to see movies. The only time I ever encounter rude morons in the theater, all of the following has to be true: [ul] [li]The film is tremendously popular with young people.[/li][li]It has to be on a Friday or Saturday night.[/li][li]The theater has to be so packed that people are sitting where they would prefer not to.[/li][li]It is a multiplex, and some people are not in the film they wanted to see.[/li][/ul] I saw more than 250 films in the theater last year, and ran into that situation _once_. Possibly because I’m not into torture porn horror (though I did see and love _Drag Me To Hell_). I see films on Friday and Saturday, but those are the nights you go see dramas and other grown-up fare. You see action movies and comedies on weeknights. If it is a big, highly anticipated film, the best time to see that is on midnight at the special early show the night before it officially opens. Either the people who hate seeing films in the theater have terrible luck, or they are seeing only massively popular films at suburban multiplexes on weekend nights. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-movies-do-you-watch-in-the-theatre/559866.md?page=4)