That's a good point. The only time I can remember doing it was just last week. There happened to be a movie we really wanted to see right after ours was over. We were already wondering what we were gonna do for the rest of the night so... why not sneak into the theater? Between shows, however, we bought about $10 worth of food. We would not have bought it otherwise. The theater probably made a higher profit on the $10 worth of food instead of the $15 tickets we would have bought.

Here's a question: what about if you did what my parents used to do when they were younger? I remember them telling me about how they would watch the same movie twice if it were good enough. is that stealing? you're seeing the movie you paid for...just seeing it twice?

Hot damn. I have to say I'm very happy I started this thread...no matter what automator thinks

I didn't say it was a very large effect. I said it was a very real effect. There's nothing subjective about that. The average internal temperature of a live human is 98.6°F (although the body temperature of movie screening thieves may be less ). If you assume a 75°F air-conditioned theater environment, that's a 23.6°F temperature gradient. Temperature gradients are the driving force for heat transfer. In the case of an adult at rest, the rate of heat transfer into the environment is approximately 450 BTU. You probably have a better idea of the average amount of movie hoppers per screening than I do, and can use that data along with the power load per BTU of a typical air conditioner used in a movie theater, cost of electricity, number of screenings per day, and number of theaters owned by a particular chain to determine the annual cost for a theater chain to cool movie hoppers. If you assume 1 hopper per screening at a medium sized chain, it'd be over $1000 per year. Small in comparison to other costs associated with the business, but definitely quantifiable. Add in what others have mentioned, such as wear and tear, and the number only goes up.

btw, your parents are thieves, too.

Yeah . . . what he said!

sdcrym . . . you cover the science side and I'll cover the business side.

Hmm...what happens in the winter? Wouldn't MY extra body heat help out with the heat bill? I'd help to heat the theater...thus...even-ing out the money spent during the summer on AC.

True, but you'd also be tracking snow, salt, etc. into the theater, increasing the wear and tear.

Sounds like you've put a lot of thought into it for some one who's so conscientiously apathetic about it, that you're not going to bother justifying your actions to anyone here. Also, you've gone from doing it whenever possible, to only doing it for older movies that don't look good or are from director's you don't like.

Not if he wiped first.


(His feet, of course...LOL)

Wiped on what? Did he bring his own doormat inside his coat to use when he got inside the theater?

And only if it's been snowing. This isn't Alaska, ya know. Sometimes it's just disgustingly cold

That was just him, not me. I'll do it whenever possible and don't have a problem admitting it.

His actions were so damn justified to me that I'm going to do it, and I'd never even CONSIDERED it before; a certain percentage of us will do whatever we like, the rest of the crowd be damned. And I'll take special pleasure in tweaking those who would love to see me nabbed (unless of course it is their job).

Umm..most theaters will have mats when you first walk in during the winter. And remember? i'll have wiped all that off when i bought the first ticket. By the second movie, it's all melted off my boots and gotten rid of. By the second one...i'm squeaky clean.

Well...really. what's going to happen if you get "nabbed?" You give the guy a $20 and he goes away. You end up paying for it, sure...but you avoid embarrassment. And as long and as often as I've been going to movies, I've NEVER seen anyone caught. If you're caught, you just won't be able to get into the movie...which has happened to me once or twice...in which case I just said that I didn't have it with me, turned around and left. I'm an actor. Lying convincingly is a job requirement.

Say, I have another question for some of you older folks:

Did you ever sneak a friend/friends/date into the drive-in? (Of course this would only be something done where individual heads were charged admission, versus X amount of $ per carload).

I'll bet some o'ya change yer tune a little now....if you're honest with yourselves...

I'm in my late 20's and used to do this in high school. My drive-in had 4 screens that showed 2 movies on each. We'd drop off everyone at the exit, they'd walk in, go to the snack bar. Two of us would pay, when we parked, 1 would get them at the snack bar ( where they'd buy food ), and walk them back to the car. So yeah, I admit that.



There's a theater near my mom's house, where I'd say about 50% of the people movie-hop. The staff and management are fully aware and do nothing about it ( ofcourse the people who go there are loud, and are constantly hopping movies, so you cant really enjoy the movie because every 15 mins people are walking in and out ) I know people who call that theater " Disneyland ". You pay your admission, and go on as many rides / see as many movies as you wish.

_______________T

Yeah, I think many of us have done that in our youth when we didn't know any better. We're adults now. It's time to grow up.

I'm not justifying my actions, I'm pointing out that there's no expense incurred by the theaters when people sneak into a film. I'm not justifying the fact that I'm stealing a service (which, in this very thread, I've willingly admitted to doing). I am, however, taking objection to the statement that it costs the theaters money. This isn't a justification of my acts, it's a discussion of the facts. Pay closer attention to what you read and this should become quite clear.

Also, "whenever possible" means: when there's a movie showing immediately after one I've paid to see that meets my criteria (a movie I'm interested in seeing, but wouldn't pay to see). This isn't always possible. When it is, I've got no qualms about sneaking in. Hence: "whenever possible." Do I seriously need to spell out my every comment in explicit detail? You have nothing substantial to add to the discussion, so you try to argue semantics (and don't even succeed in doing that).

Do we seriously need to have this debate? Fine, we'll have it your way.

The UK Health Commission has stated that, withholding any extenuating circumstances (such as flooding and pets), carpets should be replaced every ten years. When I walk into and out of a theater, I step on any given square foot of carpet a maximum of two times. Assuming I sneak into (and this is a highly exaggerated number) 100 films a year, that's 200 steps per year on any given square foot of carpet. Two-hundred steps. Even at such a highly exaggerated rate of movie-hopping, I could never in my lifetime tread on a theater's carpet enough to cause any noticeable wear, much less warrant it's replacement.

The wear and tear caused by one person's movie-hopping is so inconsequential that it becomes a moot point. The same goes for the wear and tear on the seats. I can't find any studies regarding how often upholstered furniture should be replaced, but I will say that my grandmother has had her sofa for a touch over a decade...and it's undergone much more wear and tear in that time than any movie seat. Given the condition it's in, I'd venture a guess that it won't be replaced until after she's passed away.

However, if you want to take my "no cost" statement so literally that you'll spark a debate regarding the wear and tear caused by my walking on the theater's carpet, I'll concede. I'll admit that there is a cost, and I'm just rounding down from the $0.00002.

-JP

Actually, this is a great thread. I'm highly entertained.

The movie chains should just use tazers.

Then you can have a show on-screen and off-screen.

There's no significant expense incurred by the hoppers being tazed.

Yeah, you were just pointing that out. And I'm just pointing out that you've gone from "I do it all the time, and I don't care what anyone else thinks about it" to "Well, I only do it for older movies to "I only do it for movies I didn't really want to see anyway" to "Well, it's not like it's costing the theater any money". If I didn't know any better, I'd say it's almost like you're kinda of acting like somebody that might just be feeling just a little guilty about something, maybe.

You just posted a paragraph about what the phrase "whenever possible" means, and I'm the one arguing semantics?

joeblow69:

If you were old enough to sneak people in at the drive-in, you were DEFINITELY old enough to "know better". That's like someone who was a pot-smoker in the 60's saying that pot should be outlawed today. Why, because YOU changed YOUR mind? People are such hypocrites about their personal pet peeves. I think you need to grow up. Hell, I have NEVER done this (at theater or drive-in), but I will do it now, just to check it out, LOL. In fact, I live in the DFW area, and will leave regular updates as to where and when I've done it, just for a hoot.

Dude, I was like 10. I was the one that got stuffed in the trunk. So, no, I didn't know any better.

Do whatever you want, though, I really don't care. All I'm saying is that it's clearly immoral, and I'm sure those who do it will burn in a much deeper level of hell than I will!

Cool, I can stand the heat. Can't be much worse than Texas, LOL.

I never said all the time, I said whenever possible. There's a difference.

...you don't.

You brought it up, I corrected you. To answer your question in a word; yes.

-JP

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