OldBoy

Do you get there early? how early?
solo or with people?
do you buy food there or elsewhere?
do you have to have specific seats?
etc...


so if i go solo or with someone, i like to get there fairly early and make sure i get a seat. doesn't matter what seat really just something in the middle to the back. can't sit too close. but, i do like to relax, get there and make sure i can pick my seat...

i sometimes buy popcorn, milk duds, and a diet soda of some kind. only sometimes am i in the mood though...

i'm a little OCD so i need a lot of napkins, but mostly for the soda holder to put my cell phone and wallet in there so i don't have it all on my person when seated for 2+ hours...

and i always save my stub.

Hokeyboy

I definitely don't pee in the sink, that's for sure. Never. Not in Boca Raton, no, at the iPic, in 2013.

RichC2

Sometimes I get there early, sometimes I show up while the trailers are playing.

Sometimes with friends, sometimes solo.

Sometimes buy food there, sometimes I'll sneak them in, sometimes I'll buy a beer there, sometimes I'll sneak booze in.

I sit in whatever seat has the most room around it that isn't in the front few rows.

Yeah I'm pretty non-specific.

E Unit

Wow.

Um, I reserve my ticket online usually, unless I'm near the theater. Then I'll just stop by before, maybe even a day earlier. I'd say 75% of the theaters in town have reserved seating, so there's no point in going early anymore. Haven't done that in years.

RocShemp

I rarely go to the movie theater but when I do I prefer to go solo.
I get there maybe 10 - 20 minutes early so I can get a good seat (unless the theater has assigned seating).
I pee before I go find my seats so that I have a nice empty bladder before I watch a movie.
I don't eat or drink in the movie theater. Especially the latter for fear of the need of a sudden pee break in the middle of the movie.
I prefer the middle, about two thirds of the way in the movie theater. Basically, I like to have the screen cover as much of my vision as possible without my having to turn my head to see anything on either side.

Cardsfan111

No real rituals.

Prefer to get there prior to the trailers. Like to sit in the middle.

Usually avoid food/drink for the reasons mentioned above--don't want to deal with the mess or concern myself with a restroom break.

HN

i love love LOVE reserved seating! and recently the theater i normally go to also allows you to take in the drink you got at the bar (any showing, not just special 21 and over screenings). So...

-get ticket online
-reserve seat(s)
-go a little early to get drink at the bar
-bring in drink and enjoy the show

rocket1312

Since becoming a parent I can't get to the theater nearly as much as I want to. I tend to sneak in theater visits when and where I can, but I don't really have the luxury of making sure I get there at a specific time. In fact I usually figure out what time I can get to the theater and then choose what I'm going to see based on theater schedule. Unfortunately that usually means getting there later than I would like. Most of the time I get there during the previews, but I did come into Ex Machina about a minute into the movie.

I always get popcorn and a drink. If I make sure to pee in the sink before hand I'll never need to leave in the middle. When I saw Terminator: Genisys I wasn't able to relieve myself before the movie started and ended up having to take a bathroom break in the middle. I usually hate to do that, but it was Terminator: Genysis, so no harm done.

TomOpus

1. Usually go solo. Arrive 30-60 mins early. If with someone, arrival is based on their preference.
2. If at AMC will get either a pizza or chicken fingers and a chocolate shake. If at Alamo will order depending on what I feel like eating.
3. Like to sit in the center
4. I will pee before the movie, whether I feel the need or not.

Solid Snake

Get there 20-30 minutes early to get a good seat. And that's it really. Every once in a while I'll get a popcorn and a drink for when I'm in the rare mood for it.

HN

for those concerned with having to pee in the sink in the middle of a movie, use Runpee

http://runpee.com/

rocket1312

That's actually a cool idea, but then you're just the a-hole on his phone during the movie.

Edit: Just saw that there's a timer function that vibrates when you hit a potential pee break. That could work.

inri222

I meditate beforehand so I don't kill anyone who plays with their phone, constantly babbles or can't control their children during the movie.

Dan

I didn't think I really had any until seeing the other comments in this thread, so... I wouldn't call them rituals as much as just... things I do/prefer.
- If alone, I try to get there 30 minutes early. Enough time to piss (even if I don't feel like I need to), get food, find a seat, and relax. Luckily, my wife is the exact same way, so when we go together, there's no fuss.
- If I'm with a group, I let them decide... but I kind of hate it, as 'they' usually like to skip the trailers, which (most of the time) means missing the first few minutes of the main feature, too.
- If it's reserved seating, then I aim for 10-15 minutes early. There are still damn wiener kids who don't understand the concept of reserved seating and are offended when you tell them to move, so I prefer to just claim my seat beforehand. Plus, since I'm used to arriving up to 30 minutes in advance, I don't mind the wait anyway.
- Food: I almost always get pop and popcorn. I have to snack on something, and almonds are just WAY too loud. Old habits die hard.
- If I anticipate a dead theatre, I aim for middle to middle-back seating. If I expect it to be packed, I feel like I need to be in the aisle. I have a history of kind of sort of dozing off in the theatre, and I'm a LOUD snorer, so I need an easy way out if I'm suddenly too tired to keep watching (this is for the sake of other theatre-goers, not myself).
- Whenever it's an option, I choose 2D over 3D.

fumanstan

With my fiancee, we always go around 30 minutes early to get a good seat about midway up. No other real rituals, sometimes we get snacks sometimes we don't, sometimes we do early weekend matinees for cheap tickets, sometimes we'll just go whenever it's convenient. Sometimes we go to the basic Regal/AMC, others we (or with my friends) splurge and go to to the fancy Cinepolis theater with leather recliners, reserved seating, and waiters that bring you food and drinks.

Why So Blu?

15 minutes or so. I get a drink, maybe, then sit down. Reserved seating rocks.

TomOpus

Unless you're stuck next to someone you really don't want to be next to.

Mike86

No real rituals. Talk with friends to find out if others want to go or not and show up. Usually buy popcorn and a drink at the concession stand unless I've ate before going to the movie.

devilshalo

I like to pull my pants down and rub my ass on the seat for the next person.

gryffinmaster

I always slip the ticket stubs in my wallet immediately after getting through the line, and we like to get to the theater a few minutes early to look at the new posters/standees.

bluetoast

When the movie is about to start I turn off my fucking phone. Other than that, yeah, get there before trailers, sit in the middle usually. If I'm hungry, I get food.

lopper

I prefer to go to the movies solo, mostly because my wife is a talker/gasper/loud laugher/noise maker, so I usually wait until I'm traveling for work and see 3 or 4 movies in a week, depending on what's out.

I have a specific theater chain, Harkins, that I like to go to because they have that magical popcorn flavor dust that I'm growing ever more dependent on. Love that stuff. They also have refillable loyalty cups, too -- same size as a large, but you get $1.50 refills for an entire year.

And I have to get there at least 20 minutes early minimum , regardless of if I'm solo or with my wife. Even if I know there's no chance of there being a line or a crowd, we're getting there early.

Oh, and I won't eat my popcorn until the previews start.

Giantrobo

Varies a bit depending on if Solo but generally:


-Always arrive early so i don't miss trailers
-Pee
-Scope out seating
-Get seat in the back row center under the projector or Mid/back rows aisle
-Settle in if with someone
-Go get food
-Pee

DJariya

If the movie is over 2 hours long, I try not to drink anything beforehand.

Obi-Wanma

I sacrifice a virgin exactly 1 hour before showtime.