There’s something so wonderful about seeing the right movie with the right crowd. At a time when there have never been more niche entertainment options, we still haven’t found anything to replace the shared experience of watching a story with a bunch of strangers inside a theater. At its best, that collective focus can generate the type of momentum you see when a sports team is playing at home. It can make every joke seem just a little bit funnier. It can make every punch hit that much harder, and it can make a good movie pop like a great one.
There’s nothing better than taking that ride with a fun crowd. Unfortunately, there’s nothing worse than taking that ride with an awful crowd. Just as well-intentioned strangers reacting next to you can improve the experience, a bunch of idiots next to you can ruin it. From loud talkers to loud texters to loud chewers to loud farters, there are what feels like an increasingly large number of rude moviegoers who just don’t know how to behave themselves. So, in an effort to both complain and educate, I’ve decided to make an incomplete list of things really rude people do at the movies.
Don’t clean up after themselves.
Even if they serve food, movie theaters are not your typical restaurants and shouldn't be used that way. Take your soda and your BunchaCrunch box and throw it in the garbage on your way out. Don't leave your popcorn tub on the ground for people to knock over, and if you put the reclining seat up, return it to the normal position before you leave. It's really not that hard.
Talk during the movie.
If we’re being honest, there is some amount of whispering I’m okay with in a movie theater. If you want to whisper you’re going to the bathroom or let out the occasional “seriously?” to whoever you came with at a low volume, I probably won’t think anything of it. But there are people who will have full-on, normal-throated conversations, sometimes about the movie and sometimes about random nonsense from their personal lives. If you’re speaking words other people around you can clearly make out, you’re talking way too freakin’ loud. Shut your face hole until the credits.
Use their phone with the light setting on.
The easier rule here is to say you should never have your phone out during the movie. If you’re someone who doesn’t understand nuance or gray areas, then stop reading this paragraph and just go with that. Keep your phone in your pocket, purse, satchel or fanny pack. If, however, you’re someone who has a more complicated sense of right and wrong, then here’s what I’ll say. If your phone light isn’t on and you’re not texting, I don’t care if you’re glancing at your phone to see the time or read a text message or whatever. I only care if I’m distracted, and I’m only distracted if you have the light on or you’re banging out a text with Edward Scissorhands nails.
Eat loudly.
We all love eating food while we’re watching something. That’s one of life’s great pleasures, but if you’re doing it around other people, you need to eat like you have some level of personal shame. Chew with your mouth closed. Don’t make audible chomping sounds. You don’t need to hide it or be discreet, but it is your responsibility to make sure your eating is not being heard over dialogue. It doesn’t matter if the food you ordered is naturally loud. You picked it, and you need to figure out how to consume it quietly.
Sit in the wrong assigned seat.
Most movie theater chains have moved to assigned seating. I love that. I want to pick where I’m going to park myself, and I don’t want to have to show up 30 minutes early to have options. Assigned seats allow all of us who plan ahead to do that, but with this new freedom, comes responsibility. We all need to double-check our assigned seat number and use basic navigation skills to get there. People don’t want to have to tell you to move, and if someone ever does have to have that convo with you, you should feel disappointed in yourself.
Arrive late
I think you should show up and be seated before the previews start. That’s my personal hardline opinion, but to be honest, the previews period is a moral gray area. Some people don’t enjoy watching previews, and I totally get where they're coming from. So, if you wanna roll in ten minutes after the movie’s scheduled start time and miss out on a bunch of glorified ads, that’s your business. I’m not going to think any differently about you as a human being, but you better be situated and silent when the movie actually starts. Rolling in during the opening credits is on the wrong side of the line.
Take kids to a movie they don’t belong in
I love movies, and like everyone who loved movies as a kid, I schemed and found ways to watch stuff that was way too mature for me. That’ll keep happening from now until forever, but that doesn’t mean that, as a parent, you should be actively bringing your little kids to movie theaters to watch R-rated movies. I saw Looper, a film about going back in time to murder a child, with a literal child of like six in front of me. He didn’t seem like he was having the best time, and I would have had a better time without him there. That being said, Looper still rules.
Take forever to order food
If there are a bunch of lines wide open, then feel free to take as much time ordering food as you want. Ask how the hot dogs are looking today. See if there are any obscure flavors of M&Ms in the back. Live your hungriest life, but if there’s a whole line of people behind you trying to get to their movies before they start, you have a responsibility to know what you’re going to order when you get to the front. Check out the menu as you advance in line, and when the employee asks you what you want, be ready to answer.
Shhh other people for low volume noise
Almost all of the entries on this list are complaining about people being inconsiderate of those around them. I need to at least offer one that goes the other way. People are going to make the occasional bit of noise, whether it be leaving their seat to use the bathroom or eating popcorn at a reasonable volume or whispering once or twice to the person next to them. I’m not saying I like it, but if someone nearby you is operating in good faith, don’t shhhh them at the first hint of a minor breach of etiquette. Everyone should start with the benefit of the doubt, and then if they go way over the line or are repeatedly over the line in more moderate ways, then feel free to mean mug or hit them with an Alpha Academy shooosh.
Sneak into another movie.
If we locked people up for sneaking into a second movie, there wouldn’t be enough of us left to run the machines. I get it. But I will say movie theaters are not in the best place right now, and if you were willing to pay to see that second movie at some point, most theaters could really use your money. It’s not exactly a Taylor Swift concert on your average Wednesday anymore. Plus, when people do get caught, it’s a really awkward, uncomfortable and annoying distraction for everyone else trying to watch the movie.
Recline the seat too much.
Let me be clear. This isn’t an airplane argument about whether it’s appropriate to recline your seat or not. The nicer movie theaters have plenty of room to splay out in whatever position you’d like, but once you decide on an angle stick with it for a while. I’m not saying you shouldn’t ever change, but if you’re pressing that louder-than-you’d-expect button for more than ten sequences during the movie, it’s probably not the seat’s fault you can’t get comfortable.
Laugh or scream to the point where it’s significantly louder than others.
I’m not trying to be in the business of policing the volume people laugh at. Being self-conscious about your own joy is a miserable way to live. I’m all about staying weird and doing you, but there’s an invisible line you need to stay on the right side of. Laugh how you wanna laugh. Let out shocked noises and maybe even some reasonably volumed screams at the relevant moments. It’s best for everyone if you’re on the ride and going with it, but don’t be several orders of magnitude louder than the next loudest person.
Loudly talk about the ending to the movie you just saw on your way out.
Half the fun of going to the movies is talking about what you just saw after it’s done. We all want to do it, but if you’re going to discuss big spoilers or key third-act moments that aren’t in the trailer, have some awareness of whether there are other people around you. General comments about whether or not you liked the movie are totally fine, but if you want to get into important specifics, do it in a quieter voice or wait until you’re in the car on the way home. Nothing is worse than getting spoiled on a movie while you’re literally walking inside a theater to go see that movie.
Put bare feet on the seat in front of you.
I’m a shoes-off guy. The second I get home, I’m taking my shoes off. I’d love to be able to take my shoes off at the movies and put them on the seat in front of me, but as a collective human race, we have decided bare feet should not be placed near a stranger’s personal space. That makes sense, especially given some people do not properly manage their own personal hygiene. So, keep your shoes on when you’re at the movies, or, at the very least, keep them on the ground and be discreet enough to where no one else notices.
Smuggle in weird outside food.
I’m not a narc. If you want to smuggle in a Mountain Dew or M&Ms, either because the theater doesn’t have your preferred brand or because you don’t want to pay $8.50 for something that costs a dollar at the grocery store, that’s your personal business. But you shouldn’t be smuggling in anything that has a weird odor or is particularly complicated to eat. There’s a reason the theater probably isn’t selling egg salad sandwiches.
Buy an assigned seat in the middle if they’re a person who pees a lot.
My wife always has to pee. An overwhelming majority of the time we go to the theater, she’s gonna sneak out to pee at some point. That’s just her lot in life, but she deals with this by intentionally getting seats at the end of a row. That allows her to exit and enter as quickly as possible and without distracting other people. I’m certainly not saying you shouldn’t go pee if you’re sitting in an inconvenient position and need to pee, but I am saying if you know that’s for sure going to happen ahead of time, consider not sitting directly in the middle.
Talk excessively during the previews.
I think the rules for talking during previews are less onerous than talking during the movie. If you want to nudge the person sitting next to you and say in a lowered voice that something looks good, you should do that. I’m even fine with the occasional longer sentence about how cool a shot was or whether you’re planning to see it in theaters. This isn’t 1985. People can jump on YouTube and watch a preview later if they’re compelled to do so, but even so, the previews are not the time for a ten-minute story about your aunt and uncle getting divorced. Start getting focused.
Be unpleasant to the workers.
You’re a real scumbag if you treat hourly workers without the respect they deserve, and that extends to those working at the movies, as well. Whether you’re in a dine-in theater or something more conventional, there’s no reason to be unpleasant. Even if someone makes a mistake, they deserve the benefit of the doubt, and, more than likely, it’s not even their actual fault. If you arrive to find popcorn that wasn’t cleaned up on your seat, the person who cleans it up isn’t necessarily the person who failed at cleaning it up in the first place. Be kind, and if you have a problem, address it calmly with the manager.
Let their kids wander around at the wrong kind of showing.
Everyone knows if you go see an animated film or one marketed toward children, especially in the middle of the day, you’re probably gonna be there with kids who will act like kids. As a society, we all need to accept that. A six-year-old isn’t going to behave the same way in public as his grandmother, but exactly how much your kid can get away varies based on the screening you’re attending. If you’re at 10 AM on Saturday and a bunch of other kids are acting like kids, yours can get away with a lot, but if you’re at a 4 PM showing and everyone in the theater is sitting respectfully, your kid can’t be standing on his seat and looking backwards.
Put their arm on someone else’s armrest.
If you’re under a certain age and reading this, you probably have no idea how terrible movie theaters were back in the day. If your butt wasn’t in active pain while you were watching, it was considered a victory, and if you had an armrest, you were cruising on easy street. Now a lot of theaters practically have La-Z Boys with full ability to recline, but as much as things change, the most basic rule has remained the same. Your space is your space, and your neighbor’s space is not your space. Don’t extend your arm into their armrest area. Don’t sprawl out in any way that breaks the invisible threshold between seats— unless, of course, you know the person. Then that’s between the two of you.
Record the screen.
This article is mostly about minor breaches of etiquette. I don’t have, for example, warnings not to murder people. That should go without saying, as should the fact that you shouldn’t pirate the movie and upload it online. That’s extremely illegal and the kind of thing that could legitimately ruin your life if caught, but you also shouldn’t commit the much more minor offense of recording a few seconds of the movie. People do this all the time to upload to their social media accounts, but it can be really distracting to those around you, and the movie studios really, really don’t like it. If you want to show off you’re at a movie, take a picture of your ticket or take a quick video before the previews start.
Set trash next to the trash can.
This might be the most minor thing on the list, but I see it happen all the time. If you’re throwing something away as you exit the theater, throw it in the trash can. Don’t put it on the counter next to the trash can. If the trash can is full, carry it with you and find another trash can somewhere else in the theater. I know it’s annoying and the workers should never let it get to that point, but there are like twenty trash cans in the average movie theater. Chances are you will accidentally walk past one, even if you take your intended route out of the theater. Just drop it in one of those other receptacles.
Save too many seats if there’s not an assigned seating situation.
This one would have been way higher on the list back in the day, but the proliferation of assigned seating has rendered it much less important. Still, if you’re going to a screening that doesn’t have assigned seats, there is a limit to the number of seats you can save, especially in a prime location. If you’re saving a seat for one person, you can probably get away with that, but you should not be saving any seats someone in your party can’t personally touch with an outstretched hand. Eight people saving three seats is on the right side of the line, but one person saving three seats is definitely not.
Get into a verbal confrontation.
You know what’s absolutely crazy? The fact that people get in fights at movie theaters or get involved in screaming matches. Chill out. We’re all here to destress and watch a movie in our free time. If someone is behaving so inappropriately that you can’t enjoy your movie, leave and go talk to the manager. I promise they’d rather give you a free ticket than see you get into a screaming match during Avatar 2 over some spilled popcorn. Whatever is going on is not that big of a deal, and if it is that big of a deal, you should flee for your safety.
Chew gum so loudly other people notice.
I like gum, and I like mints. I wouldn’t say I use them all the time, but if someone hands me a stick or an Altoid, I’m probably gonna take them up on the offer. That comes with a responsibility, however. There’s nothing worse than overhearing someone smacking away on gum, and it’s particularly distracting during the movies. It’s also particularly distracting to overhear someone biting into a mint repeatedly. Do what you wanna do. Just have some level of self-awareness and chew with consideration.
Complain about utter nonsense especially to get free tickets.
I’m not saying there’s not a time and place to ask for a refund. Sometimes an experience is terrible and you shouldn’t pay for it, but you shouldn’t have a dozen stories of times you did that in your back pocket. A movie not meeting your expectations is not a reason to ask for a refund, nor is a marginally annoying patron in your vicinity. I overheard one woman ask for a refund because the theater “got pretty warm near the end.” I was inside the same theater and didn’t notice a thing. If at least a fourth of people wouldn't also be annoyed about whatever you’re about to complain about, then consider not saying whatever it is you’re about to say.
Spend too long at the ticketing kiosk.
Sometimes the kiosk for self-ordering tickets can be confusing. Every theater chain has its own version of it, and they do not all work in the same way. In addition, it can sometimes be complicated to figure out how to choose your seats, where the screen is, and all the other little details. That’s okay. No one is expecting you to fly through like you’re an employee, but if you’re confused for multiple minutes about how to make forward progress, go ask an employee. There are a limited number of kiosks, and sometimes there’s a healthy line to use them. If you recognize you’re in over your head, take proactive action to get help.
Prop the door open when you leave or return mid-movie.
You know how the door to a lot of movie theaters is open until the screening starts? Typically, an employee comes by and closes the door once the showing starts so you’re not hearing constant background noise of people walking down the halls to find their theater. Well, if you leave to go pee or get some food in the middle of the movie, close the door behind you and do the same when you return. No one sitting in the back third wants to listen to people chit-chat outside the theater.
Linger too long after the movie is over.
A lot of people like staying through the closing credits. With the popularity of post-credit scenes, sometimes even the majority of people stay through the credits. That’s absolutely fine. Once the runtime is over and the lights come up, however, don’t sit around and chit-chat for an extended period of time. Ushers need to come in to clean the theater ahead of the next showing, and if there’s no next showing, then the ushers want to clean up and go home. There are other places you can talk.
Make someone ask you to move your stuff off their seat.
Other people might tell you never to put something down on the seat next to you. I’m not going to go that far. If you want to set your purse down so it’s not on the ground, that’s really not harming anyone, but if you’re going to do it, you need to be aware of other people arriving. If someone is walking down the row toward the seat, pick up your bag and move it. People don’t want to have to ask you to move your stuff for them to sit down in the seat they paid for. That’s not a conversation they want to have. Be courteous and do it before have to, and if you’re not aware enough to recognize when to move the stuff, then don’t use the seat.
Fart
I shouldn’t have to write this paragraph. It’s awkward and also, mistake farts happen now and again. None of us are immune from the occasional whoops, but if you’re having some kind of stomach issue or just don’t know how to control yourself to the point where other people would tell their friends about what happened afterwards, you should probably catch the movie on streaming instead.
