I went to see Spy Game on Thanksgiving. The theater was packed becuase of the 1-2 combo of Turkey-night and opening week but I notice this all the time. Why do groups of four or five come in ten minutes into the actual movie and expect to find four seats together in a packed theater? They just stand in the aisles, popcorn and cokes in hands, pointing and whispering. Do they think that the entire front two rows of people already in the theater ignored the four seats right in the middle of the theater? I know people want to sit together but when you come into a crowded theater after the movie started you shouldn’t expect much. Am I alone on this?
No but I can understand the talking about it for a tiny bit while they’re trying to see any open seats. If they’re still there in five minutes, then they need to get a life.
Why they’re late - well, trying to organise more than two people to go anywhere and get there on time is just about impossible unless you have at least one person who has the organising traits of a border collie.
Why they stand there for five minutes whispering - it takes a little time for your eyes to adapt to the dark, so until that happens, you can’t see whether there’s an empty seat anywhere. Better they stand near the entrance until they can see than fall over theatre-goers.
If it’s any longer than that though, it’s down to them being rude, stupid fools who can’t accept the reality that they aren’t going to be able to sit together.
It can be summed up by the simple fact that, carry the one…chaos theory… duct tape…
PEOPLE ARE STUPID!!!
I hate hate HATE when people come in late. Tardiness anywhere at anytime is a personal pet peeve, but this is definitely the worse. Look, I managed to show up 10 mins early and found the seat that I wanted. (Well 30 if my husband is with me, he’s weird like that). Why can’t you do the same? Are you surprised you are at the movie? Was this a spur of the moment thing? If you are late because of your friends, stop going with your friends! Rent a movie and stay home! Christ people, have a little bit of consideration.
There, my rant is done.
Why are you all getting so mad? Are you somehow hurt by people showing up late for a movie? At least in my experience, these are stupid people only hurting themselves. Save the anger for something that hurts others, like the idiot in front of me at Waking Life who kept laughing even though the movie wasn’t supposed to be funny (for the most part).
Do the late people hurt you somehow? Wow, I hope I’m not being insensitive…
Sorry, evilyam, that was probably me. I have a truly bizarre sense of humour, and more than once, I’ve found myself the only one in the theatre laughing out loud at stuff. I’ll try to keep it down in the future :D.
As for showing up late to a movie, I want to tell people things like “They print the starting times in the newspaper.”
I really don’t mind the phenomenon described in the OP because most people are just interrupting my view of the trailers.
However, once I went to see to the newly restored version of “Touch of Evil”. And to guard against latecomers, I took a seat against the wall away from the aisle so nobody would block my view at the beginning of the film, since that film has one of the best beginnings of any film ever made.
Nevertheless a bunch of people kept walking up and down the aisle oblivious to the fact that the film had started.
In answer to the poster who said that movie times are printed in the newspaper, in quite a few cases, the times are wrong. A few months ago, when I went to see Miss Congeniality, the time in the newspaper said 4:30 pm. When I got to the theater, the time in the box office said 4:15 pm. When I pointed this out to the ticket seller, the pimply faced rugrat told me I should have checked the times online. He gave me a shrug and a blank look when I told him that option would take longer than opening the newspaper. Dork.
It doesn’t physically hurt me, but it annoys the hell out of me. I hate the whispers that aren’t really quiet, the shuffeling, the walking in front of me, all of it. It’s not that hard to get a movie theatre on time.
Okay, I gotcha. I guess the latecomers at my theater are just less agressive. I suggest you take drastic measures against the ones at your theater, but since I’m new here, I’ll let someone else decide exactly what.
Or me. I thought that movie was hilarious. Thoughtful and weird and a little sad, but also hilarious. Although it may just be me (and lou). I also laughed my ass off at Ed Wood, and got a lot of dirty looks for it afterwards.
“A Dostoyevski novel with clowns.”
Although I don’t doubt you received poor customer service in this case, allow me to contribute as a former theater manager–I found that a lot of people who “check the paper” often don’t check that day’s, but Sunday’s or whenever the weekly Calendar section comes out. It isn’t uncommon for show times to change day to day (for reasons too boring to itemize here). We would often post that day’s newspaper to prove to people that just because they “checked the paper” doesn’t mean they are in the right. Also, newspapers can screw up and start times (especially 15 minutes apart) are very hard to juggle in a multi-house theater to correct for the newspaper’s error. I would have asked for a manager in your case if it was the newspaper’s fault.
Ed Wood was a comedy. I thought laughing at a comedy was the expected reaction. Must have been quite a set of dead wood you saw it with.
I used to get to the cinema before the film’s starting time. I’d get a good seat, but it was sure boring sitting there. Recently I’ve started showing up at, or shortly after the starting time. They’re still showing commercials and trailers. On Saturday I went to see the 3:15 showing of Harry Potter. I didn’t leave the apartment until 3:19. I got into the theatre at 3:30 (I’d bought my ticket earlier in the day) and the trailers were running. The movie didn’t actually start until 3:45 – half an hour after the published time.
Sorry us perpetually late people piss you off… oh, uh, wait. No I’m not. If I miss the first 10 minutes and get a bad seat, how does this affect you?
Some examples: Independence Day - We lived in a small town at the time, had to drive to the city to watch it. Couldn’t find the theatre. Missed the first 10 minutes of the movie.
The Phantom Menace - Had to get 6 people out the door to watch that one, three of those people were kids. Lots of last minute delays and “he hit me”. Got there 10 minutes into the movie and had to sit at the front.
Chicken Run - My sister took my boys to that one, and they were there early, but the boys refused to hold the seats while my sister bought the popcorn and drinks. By the time they made it through line and back into the theatre, again, the only seats together were in the front row.
For the record, seven of us will be going together to see Harry Potter. Again, we’ll try to get there in plenty of time. Again, it will be a miracle if we even make it for the previews. Honestly, we try not to go to more than a couple of movies a year as a family. It’s too hard trying to get six or seven people out the door, especially in winter when we all have to get totally dressed up just to leave the house. Actually, now that I think of it, I’m leaving two kids at home. Seven? What am I thinking of?
I’m totally with you on this one. And just to hijack a bit, the same rule applies to driving. There’s no need to suddenly change two or more lanes of traffic at the last moment!! Did you forget where you were going? Did you suddenly decide to go somewhere new in the last two seconds that meant you couldn’t change lanes a half mile back like any rationally thinking person?
It’s the poor planning that pisses me off. You know what time the movie starts. Get there on time. You know you’re going to want to turn right in a mile. Get in the right-hand lane. Your lack of planning affects the rest of us!
Seems that if you are getting to the theatre 10 minutes late every single time, it would make sense to start leaving earlier, no? Is it so terribly bad to show up a little early?
That, or go to a multiplex that have multiple screens of the movie with staggered start times. Miss one, and another one starts 15 minutes later.
Just a couple of easy solutions…
It doesn’t affect me if you get a bad seat. What does affect me is:
“Is that a seat?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
“Well, can you see yet?”
“Yes, I can. Oooh here’s a seat.” (Now they start to talk louder and louder. It seems as their eyes adjust, so do their voices.)
(The whole group walks across the theatre)
“Ooops, no it wasn’t.”
“Well, I’m only going to sit with my BF/GF/dog/whatever.”
(Very loud whine)“I don’t want to sit in the front!”
“Don’t worry you won’t have to sit in the front.”
“Maybe there’s one in the back.”
(The whole group marches up the stairs.)
“No, the whole back is taken. I guess we have sit in the front.”
“Well, can we just sit somewhere, my back hurts!”
(At this point, a kid starts screaming because he’s tired of being dragged all over the damn theatre.)
“Ok, ok, we’ll just have to sit in the front.”
“I didn’t pay $7 to strain my eyes and neck!”
Meanwhile the film has been playing the entire time, and I missd the beginning because one of the idiots is trying to get to the seat in the middle of my row that’s apparently being saved because 3 seconds later, said idiot turns back around in the process steps on my foot.
Also, the poor planning pisses me off. Believe it or not, what you do affects everybody in close range, not just your thoughtless self.
Why would anyone not want to get to a theater early? You get plenty of time to get snacks, go to the potty, settle down, and pick out some good seats, not to mention any quality conversation you can have with your fellow moviegoers (or, if you’re going alone, there’s always Gameboy 
). Going to a movie late seems as pointless IMO as buying a book and not reading it.