Why do people get up and leave the cinema as soon as the credits start?

[Neil]

I fucking hate this tradition.  I love to soak up the end of the film, and the atmosphere of the closing music.  Then hang around for any extra bits, but all these buggers get up and obscure your view, and just disturb the whole process.  What's the rush? 

[non capisco]

I'm with you on that one. I feel like the film hasn't truly ended until the credit roll has finished, especially if there's the possibility of a sneaky post-credits coda. I've noticed cinemas seem to be increasingly in a hurry to get you to bugger off as well. I went to see 'Troll Hunter' recently and the lights all came up on full the second the pre-credits scene had ostensibly finished, despite there being a (very good) extra bit of business popping up not too far into the credit roll which is just as much a part of the film.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I'll stick around if I know there's a post credits scene or if there's something playing alongside the credits, like Super 8, but otherwise I'm equally baffled as to why anyone would want to stay as you are by their leaving. Are you really fussed about folk obscuring the view of a scrolling list of names?

[Neil]

Are you really fussed about folk obscuring the view of a scrolling list of names?

Yeah.  I like to wind down, and wallow in the atmosphere that is provoked by the music.  And sometimes their is lovely stuff going on on-screen to accompany the scrolling list of names.  Christ, I saw some brilliant credits just recently that were all ornate comic-book style scenes, but I can't for the life of me remember what film it was.  Can anyone think of particularly good credits sequences?  Was it The Fountain, perhaps?

[CaledonianGonzo]

Not a car owner myself, but always presume that in the likes of multiplexes, etc. it's people trying to beat the queue getting out of the car park.

Otherwise, it's probably people hastily legging it out to the facilities after drinking a Maxi Gulp-sized bucket of Fanta (or a few pints, if you're lucky enough to live next to an enlightened pint-providing arthouse gaff).

[Jemble Fred]

I'll stick around if I know there's a post credits scene or if there's something playing alongside the credits, like Super 8, but otherwise I'm equally baffled as to why anyone would want to stay as you are by their leaving.

Well hang on, how on earth could you ever know there was more to come? That's why a lot of people stick around, because it's highly unlikely that you'd know if there was a post-credits scene or similar.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Lots of reviews will usually drop a big hint ("stick around during the end-credits"), while some directors/studios - Marvel, for instance - make a habit of it...

[Jemble Fred]

Yes, but it's still more likely than not that any credits stuff would be a surprise. And for me (unless it's a film I'm particularly fascinated in, and want to read soundtrack details etc), it's that uncertainty which keeps me hanging around to the end.

[Noodle Lizard]

I only hang around for a bit if I liked the film or if the credits are particularly stylish and/or I want to check whether someone was who I thought they were etc.

But since I can't remember the last time I enjoyed a film I saw in the cinema, I don't do this very often.

[Zetetic]

it's that uncertainty which keeps me hanging around to the end.

There must be some film(s) with plenty of false ends that play with the credit sequence. Any ideas?

Edit: Apologies for being, dull, dull, unbearably dull but Wikipedia has some examples of slightly interesting credit sequences and Post-credits stuff, but not what I was hoping for. And this all gets away from Neil's idea. Edit2: Hitman: Blood Money makes it look like the game has ended, going into credits and everything, when actually it hasn't (or at least it's a matter of choice). It'd probably seem too gimmicky in any film that took itself seriously.

Anyway, yep. Piss, cramp and queues I fear. Happens less in nicer cinemas I've found.

[spock rogers]

It's the cinema equivalent of the twatty trend on telly to squash the credits down and yap all over them.

[Neil]

Lots of reviews will usually drop a big hint ("stick around during the end-credits"), while some directors/studios - Marvel, for instance - make a habit of it...

Don't read reviews, especially don't watch trailers.  What's the point?

[Neil]

Also, how does it avoid queues when most people all run out like a mooing herd?  I'm genuinely not sure of the logic there.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Just a theory.  Personally, I think that 'legging it for a slash' is probably the most common reason for the sharp exit.

As for reviews, I'll certainly muse over a couple before heading into a film.  Of course I hate spoilers, but then I also quite like avoiding dreadful movies.

[Zetetic]

I'm genuinely not sure of the logic there.

Tragedy of the commons, alas. It doesn't avoid queues, but that's still the motive.

[Neil]

As for reviews, I'll certainly muse over a couple before heading into a film.  Of course I hate spoilers, but then I also quite like avoiding dreadful movies.

I think you can get a good feel for whether you're going to be wasting your time or not, through general osmosis.  Always works for me.  It's even easier now with Twitter, where people don't have the space or energy to tap out anything more than a yay or boo.

[CaledonianGonzo]

Yes - that's probably true.  I've already decided I want to see Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy but haven't read a review of it yet...

[Consignia]

I usually do it because it's late on a weekday evening, and I've got work in morning. I can mull it over in the car.

[BlodwynPig]

The end credits for the remake of Dawn of the Dead puts the rest of the film in the shade - its gruesome.

[Harpo Speaks]

Don't read reviews...What's the point?

Analysis of art is interesting? Though presumably you only mean ones for a film you haven't yet seen.

[Neil]

Yep.  Then I'd work out my own thoughts, then read here, then maybe finally turn to other reviews, but even then, I don't usually bother as I prefer to work it out myself, and am a bit of a control freak about that.  To my own detriment, really, but it's way, way more fun for me to realise something, than it is to passively read it.

[Serge]

I like to stay until the bitter end, although I also extend this to watching movies on DVD, too. I just feel it's part of the whole experience, to have seen every second of it, it must be some sort of compulsive thing I have. I do sit right at the very back at the cinema, too, so I get to see everybody get up and leave. Splitters.

[Glebe]

As a movie buff, it's a habit that really annoys me... particularly people getting up with their jackets in hand even before the credits have started to come up... total buzz-ruiner. Love it when film makers do fun stuff with credits; The Zucker/Abrahams/Zucker movies are a prime example... more recently, Super 8 featured a fantastic little bookend. Maybe it's a bit sad, but whenever I watch a movie on Bluray/DVD for the first time, I always watch the entire credits.

[HappyTree]

There are a few of us real people out there, but most audiences in my experience do not really take the time or make the effort to fully immerse themselves in anything much. These are the same people who spend most of the film eating a 3 course meal of popcorn, hot dogs and nachos, fidgeting around in their seats, going to the toilet, talking to their friends, slapping their kids, checking Facebook on their phones, even talking to people on the phone and generally acting like complete arsecheeks. They wander through life scared of experiencing the simplest reflection on their life or the human condition and relentlessly push all philosophising out of their minds with a constant, feverish stream of transitory distractions.

When I go to the cinema I want the full experience: I park a little way away so I can have a bit of a walk; I make sure I have been to the toilet beforehand; I eat and drink nothing; I pay attention; I switch my phone to mute; I soak in the universe of the story afterwards, think about its themes; I used to go to this spot near the Glasgow Film Theatre that is high up and overlooks Charing Cross[nb]Western extremity of Hill Street[/nb] so I could look out at the view and let my thoughts develop; I was actually there to see the film, funnily enough.

In recent years I've been so annoyed by the complete lack of awareness from other viewers that they are in a public place that I've stopped going to the cinema completely in the UK. Avatar in France was ok, the audience wasn't as depraved.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I normally sit their for two or three minutes digesting the film (depending on if it was any good of course) though rarely stay right through to the end unless it was particularly amazing or traumatising (after Irreversible, pretty much the whole audience stayed until the lights came up), but as a nicotine addict if it's been a very average affair the first thing I want to do is head outside and sate the cravings. I wouldn't criticise anyone for leaving though, especially if you're in a group and enjoy discussing what you've just witnessed.

[Little Hoover]

When abbreviated on the forum index, this thread title reads "why do people get up..." which might be a far more pertinent question to ask.

I feel a sort of duty to stay through to the end but I often don't quite, it can be a combination of needing a piss, and I get nagging sense I'm wasting my time, and there's nothing to be gained from watching it to the end. I also get a weird thing about not wanting to be the last to leave the theatre, so I'll often stand near the door so once it really has finished I can walk out as soon as possible.

[Big Jack McBastard]

I'm usually the last person out, I often spot overzealous ush... no let's call them what they are, 'cleaners', doing the rounds sweeping up popcorn and giving me funny looks. I quite like having the place to myself even if it is only for 5 minutes, especially when something post-credits pops up and justifies my arse ache.

[momatt]

I fucking hate this tradition.  I love to soak up the end of the film, and the atmosphere of the closing music.  Then hang around for any extra bits, but all these buggers get up and obscure your view, and just disturb the whole process.  What's the rush?

It's because you're a geek who likes to absorb every last ounce of enjoyment from a film.  I am exactly the same, which drives my girlfriend nuts.  I have to hear all the music as well as checking for extra hidden gags/scenes at the end of the film.  I hate the weary looks the cleaner gives me as I leave.
Most people don't have the patience or interest.

[Funcrusher]

I'm a very regular film-goer, but don't generally sit through the credits these days, unless I want to identify a bit of music from the soundtrack. The film's over, so it's time for me to go. I never see films that have that post credit stuff, and I think it's just gimmicky shit anyway.

[Utter Shit]

I fucking hate this tradition.  I love to soak up the end of the film, and the atmosphere of the closing music.  Then hang around for any extra bits, but all these buggers get up and obscure your view, and just disturb the whole process.  What's the rush? 

Leaving at the end of a film doesn't equate to being in a rush. Once the film ends, I leave. That's logical enough, isn't it?