Cinema etiquette

[Utter Shit]

Well a lot of people make noise when they go to the cinema, so why not just ban customers as well.

[An tSaoi]

I think it's the mess more than anything. If someone's eating a chocolate bar they're less likely to spill it all over the floor. Popcorn is just a hundred bits of mess in an large open-topped container.

[Utter Shit]

Only if you're a fuckwit. Why not sell popcorn and then pay some poor kid £5 an hour to clean it up after the film? No wonder these smaller cinemas struggle so much.

[small_world]

Oh no. I've broken some of my own fairly conservative rules I think.
We often go to see two films at a time, one after another. And we'll take a McDonald's' in to the first one and get popcorn for the second.
Actually, thinking about it, I'm a total cunt. I buy a massive bag of popcorn and like to get my moneys worth. So when it comes to the end of the bag and all those little popcorn crumbs, I rip the bag down in size and tip it in to my fat mouth.
Shit.

Popcorn
Sweet or salted?

[scarecrow]

Popcorn is a cinema standard. Saying you can't let people in popcorn because it's a gateway snack leading to harder snacks is transparently bollocks. I can understand drawing the line at strong-smelling food or food that is impossible to eat without noise, but if I want to sit watching a film and enjoy some popcorn without making a mess or affecting anyone else's viewing then what has it really got to do with 'respecting your stance'?

It's a cinema standard, but I think it's outdated. I'm presuming that it originally came to prominence during the depression as a dirt cheap snack for escapist movie goers. Back then films weren't treated with as much reverence as they are now. People would use them as we use television or as mere excuses to make out and would think nothing of walking into a movie halfway through. Attitudes to watching films have changed and we have less tolerance for disruptions. It's loud and messy and completely unsuitable for certain films and environments. Yet people insist on having it because of tradition. It's hard for a cinema to feel like an easy going environment when it imposes rules on its patrons. However, if popcorn is discouraged people should respect that. For every one person who eats it carefully and discreetly, there are loads who don't. If you want to eat it, go somewhere that actually sells it.

[Artemis]

Has anyone ever been stopped taking their own confectinoary into the cinema with them? It happened to me once. I boguht a drink in from a nearby shop that cost me a quid instead of the £3.50 they were charging in the cinema, and the ticket guy stopped me and said I'd have to finish it outside. Since then, I've tucked them into my jacked/in my pockets/up my arse whenever I pass through.

I wouldn't mind paying a bit more for a hot dog or whatever if it was of a reasonable standard, but the 'fresh food' you buy in these places is absolutely horrifying - the very worst of whatever it is you are buying.

[Serge]

Only if you're a fuckwit.

I think it's fair to say, especially given some of the stories in this thread (and the litter thread), that there are a fair few of these about.

Then again, I think popcorn is the Devil's Psoriasis.

[Famous Mortimer]

Has anyone ever been stopped taking their own confectinoary into the cinema with them?

Mercifully not. A few weeks ago, I was going to pay for a mate to come to the cinema with us (it was about £7 a ticket) and when he pulled out at the last moment I thought "well, this is the first time in a very long time I feel justified in buying cinema food and drink". One medium drink and a bag of minstrels later, I'd spent over £6. Do they not know how much this shit is out in the real world, in some cases 50 yards down the road? It's like they're encouraging people to rip them off, and seems an odd business model.

[kidsick5000]

It's a cinema standard, but I think it's outdated. I'm presuming that it originally came to prominence during the depression as a dirt cheap snack for escapist movie goers. Back then films weren't treated with as much reverence as they are now.

Not just that but cinema halls are not the flea pits they once were. Popcorn is truly a cinema tradition that should be phased out.
What is amazing is just how much you have to pay for snacks in the UK. Only been to a cinema once there in the past 10years. A drink, icecream and a pack of m&ms was damn near the price of the tickets. Just a little Vue cinema.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I think it's fair to say, especially given some of the stories in this thread (and the litter thread), that there are a fair few of these about.

Then again, I think popcorn is the Devil's Psoriasis.

Agreed. I've reasonably crap hearing, but a lot of people eat popcorn so loudly it can be a constant distraction, especially when they somehow make one of those giant boxes last a whole film.

I guess Utter Shit loves popcorn, but his aggressive stance is surprising as most people I know feel the same way as I (and Serge) do.

[padougy]

One medium drink and a bag of minstrels later, I'd spent over £6. Do they not know how much this shit is out in the real world, in some cases 50 yards down the road? It's like they're encouraging people to rip them off, and seems an odd business model.

The bags the popcorn comes in in cost more than the popcorn itself. Fact (that I heard from a Heston Blumenthal programme).

I understand that it's an essential part of their business, but the prices are unbelievable. Surely lowering the prices to a reasonable amount would mean more people would buy it? Could it really be that simple?

Probably not.

[Gulftastic]

Yes, I find this strange as well. I still have the scars of being turned away from an AA film (That's 15, young 'uns!)

Not quite. 14 was the required age for a 'AA' flick. I know, because just as I was approaching 14, they invented the '15'!.

[Tiny Poster]

A lot of "art-house" cinemas seem to have relaxed their food rules recently, in London at least. The NFT lets you take food and drinks in now.

Isn't that more because the NFT is desperate for cash? Which is why they have those godawful overpriced restaurants/bars there now, with "pints of sausage rolls" and bacony smells pumping into the screens.


I am worried now about the next time I go to a film or live performance and people start fucking around, as constant chatting at a recent High Llamas gig almost gave me an anxiety attack.

[Whellybob]

I seem to remember somebody mentioning that the money taken in admissions was not enough to cover the cost of the prints and performance rights, so overpriced food is essentially a necessary evil.

[kidsick5000]

I seem to remember somebody mentioning that the money taken in admissions was not enough to cover the cost of the prints and performance rights, so overpriced food is essentially a necessary evil.

I dont believe that for a second. There's a loads of places in the world where you dont get charged so much for cheap to produce food.
Next time the cinema chains are moaning about lack of numbers and blaming the internet piracy bogeyman, it should be pointed out just how little they did as a whole to attract movie-goers.

[AlkyBastard]

You have to take into consideration that the cinemas don't necessarily get a lot of money from ticket sales, a hefty chunk of which goes back to the studio. In fact, for very high release films, some cinemas get 0% of ticket sales, and are expected to recoup their money exclusively through food and beverages (the idea being that such a film would be a very large draw, so the cinema is bound to attract more customers than usual). I can't find a source for that last bit, but I read it somewhere so it's definitely true.

[SavageHedgehog]

I must have either been lucky or I'm some kind of hippy in this area because I wouldn't have said I'd ever had a particularly bad experience with a cinema audience. I was a bit put out that the audience were actually applauding the crime-granted avarice of the Fast Five characters, but it was opening day and they were all 14.

[Danger Man]

As the chance of having an enjoyable experience in a cinema is slightly less than 1%, why don't you lot do what I do and wait for the film to end up around the £5 mark on DVD?

You lose out on the 'big screen experience', I'll give you that, but you gain on absolutely everything else.

[Small Man Big Horse]

You have to take into consideration that the cinemas don't necessarily get a lot of money from ticket sales, a hefty chunk of which goes back to the studio. In fact, for very high release films, some cinemas get 0% of ticket sales, and are expected to recoup their money exclusively through food and beverages (the idea being that such a film would be a very large draw, so the cinema is bound to attract more customers than usual). I can't find a source for that last bit, but I read it somewhere so it's definitely true.

There's an interesting article about it all here: http://themovieblog.com/2007/10/economics-of-the-movie-theater-where-the-money-goes-and-why-it-costs-us-so-much which backs up your comments. It's a disgusting phase we're in, and I doubt anything will change any time soon sadly.

As the chance of having an enjoyable experience in a cinema is slightly less than 1%, why don't you lot do what I do and wait for the film to end up around the £5 mark on DVD?

I really enjoy making a trip to the cinema a bit of an event. Perhaps that reflects on the tragedy of my life a little, but I enjoy the anticipation of seeing a film on the big screen, always buy a tub of chocolate ice cream to go along with it (the only acceptable food stuff cinema's should sell imo), and lay back and relax. Plus if I see a film at home there's so many distractions that I often end up pausing it about five times, and tend not to enjoy it as much as well.

That all said, as mentioned, I hardly ever go in the evening, and avoid cinemas that I know attract annoying types, so it's rare I have a bad experience these days.

[AsparagusTrevor]

'Don't get me started' on people's reactions to the characters singing in Sweeney Todd.

The one and only time I've ever actually told anyone to shut up at the cinema was watching Sweeney Todd, two 18-ish year olds sat behind me who sighed every time someone started singing, sighed so hard I could feel their breath on the back of my head. Eventually they started mock singing and I'd had enough by that point, I flung my head round and shouted "will you either shut up or get out" and they, in a very meek way, said sorry and then remained quiet for the last 30 mins of the film.  Now it's quite likely I'd be stabbed/bleached/shot/shat on these days, so I tend to avoid confrontation.

[Famous Mortimer]

There's an interesting article about it all here: http://themovieblog.com/2007/10/economics-of-the-movie-theater-where-the-money-goes-and-why-it-costs-us-so-much which backs up your comments. It's a disgusting phase we're in, and I doubt anything will change any time soon sadly.

I knew about this from friends who worked at the local cinema, but it just seems an insane way to do business. Why don't the big chains get together and stop this shit from happening (as I never go to these sort of blockbusters, I feel an impartial observer)? Why don't they publicise it more, as an "apology" for charging an arm and a leg for drinks?

[Whellybob]

You lose out on the 'big screen experience', I'll give you that, but you gain on absolutely everything else.

You don't lose out on the big screen experience if you get a projector and paint a big screen on the wall like I did. Plus this way you can play with yrself whilst watching whatever you please without getting charged for indecent exposure. Imagine that - Salo and a shuffle! Toy Story and a tug.

...and perhaps a bit of Lazy Town for pudding?

[Utter Shit]

Why are so many people on here convinced that if they say anything to someone being disruptive in a cinema, they're going to get stabbed or whatever. Bloody hell. The most that's likely to happen is you might get a bit of backchat if they are particularly big arseholes.

[jaydee81]

Not just that but cinema halls are not the flea pits they once were.

I've heard a lot of urban myths about the rats in West End cinemas. People saying they 'know someone' who had a rat the size of a small dog run over their feet, and how the cinemas all have to keep cats. Is there any evidence to back this up? Or did I imagine it? Or am I gullible?

I really enjoy making a trip to the cinema a bit of an event. Perhaps that reflects on the tragedy of my life a little, but I enjoy the anticipation of seeing a film on the big screen, always buy a tub of chocolate ice cream to go along with it (the only acceptable food stuff cinema's should sell imo.

When I was a kid, they used to have an intermission, where the vendor would come into the cinema with a tray of ice cream. Slightly melted ice cream, eaten in semi darkness with a tiny piece of wood is one of those things that tastes amazing exclusively in its surroundings (see also chips eaten in newspaper in the dark on the way home as opposed to on a plate at home).
When did they scrap intermissions? Why don't they still have them for greedy cretins?

[Famous Mortimer]

...and perhaps a bit of Lazy Town for pudding?

When I remember my sock puppet account's password, I'll log on to ask if she's 16 yet.

[AlkyBastard]

Cinemas are dying out anyway, aren't they? That's why they're making such a push for (the unconvincing illusion of) 3D, because 1) it's harder to pirate and 2) they hope it'll attract more bums on seats in an ailing business. But they can only keep that up for so long. There have been plenty of big budget 3D films that failed miserably, like the recent Mars Needs Moms, and I'm hearing more and more people complain that they're getting tired of the effect.

It's inevitable that the film industry goes the same way as the music business. In the same way that CDs and cassettes have been replaced by mp3s, DVDs, Blurays the act of going to the cinema will be replaced by downloads (which of course many people are already doing, both legally and illegally). When enough people have high definition TVs and strong broadband connections they're going to find no reason to go out to see or buy films when they can get them at home and watch them in peace. Cinemas will go the way of the music halls and the only source of income for the studios will be downloads. Of course, like music, people are far too greedy to actually pay for anything if they can pirate it, so the studios will probably have to release the films for free through a sort of In Rainbows, pay-what-you-want platform.

With no cinemas you'll be able to watch a film at home on the day of release, and in order to undercut the pirates, the studio sanctioned downloads will come bundled with all the special features. But with the absence of ticket sales, they'll have to supplement themselves entirely through product placement, which will be three times more invasive than it already is (more like The Truman Show where the actors turn to the camera and plug their products). Since there'd be no DVD or Bluray market either, they'll probably go so far as so stick full adverts periodically into the film downloads, and the experience of watching a film will be identical to watching television; people sitting at home, alone, in their own filth being subjected to commercial breaks every ten minutes because they were too much of a misanthrope to actually go to the cinema (when they still existed) and enjoy a work in the presence of others and too stingy to pay for DVDs and actually fund the artists whose films they enjoy.

[kittens]

Yeah, no, that probably won't happen.

[Famous Mortimer]

Yeah, no, that probably won't happen.

I look forward to it going back to the good old days of a bloke in a car with boxes full of pirated videos in the boot.

But, films like "Super" are already exploring the different revenue streams AlkyBastard is talking about, released on a Video On Demand platform at the same time as being at the pictures.

But fuck 3D. After the pointlessness that was Thor 3D, I'm not bothering with it ever again unless it's literally impossible to not do so for a film I really want to watch. I'd just like cinemas to be nicer, and not sardine-packed holes.

[Jemble Fred]

Cinemas are dying out anyway, aren't they? That's why they're making such a push for (the unconvincing illusion of) 3D, because 1) it's harder to pirate and 2) they hope it'll attract more bums on seats in an ailing business.

They tried the same trick when television dented cinema attendance 50+ years ago, though. 3D died out then, as it will die out now, as an unnecessary gimmick. Cinemas remained.

[AlkyBastard]

While I agree that the reasoning is the same, I think the circumstances are slightly different now. Television back then was never going to fully replace cinema because tellies were smaller and shiteyer, and you had to wait years till a film premiered on the box. Now a really good television isn't that far removed from the cinema experience, and you can get your hands on films before they're even out in the cinemas.