Obi-Wanma

We have a couple theaters that I know of with reserved seating. You still get jackasses there, probably because there isn't an upcharge for it.

bluetoast

Yeah there are also sometimes stupid people who go to reserved theaters and not realize that the seats are actually reserved. Then they look at their ticket and realize what the letters and numbers mean.

stvn1974

The AMC here is putting in recliners so now instead of just having to worry about assholes talking loudly and looking at their phones we will get to listen to them snore too.

Xiroteus

That would make theater going a bit of a pain. I have to sit in some type of middle area be it in any row, too close and or too far to either side is no going to work.

Pizza

Can't trust senior citizens either. I was standing behind two seniors in a ticket line. As soon as they hit the ticket window four more seniors from another line darted over in front of me and said "we're with them." If they were buying their tickets as a group I don't think I would have been annoyed but each one did a separate transaction. Needless to say they were in the same screening as me and gabbed loudly like a bunch of teenagers through the whole movie.

RoboDad

Everything you describe has no bearing on them being seniors, from what I can see. I've observed that behavior from pretty much every demographic.

RoboDad

I honestly can't imagine how that could happen. When you buy reserved seat tickets, you have to take the time to choose your seats. It's not rocket science.

My hunch is that people are hoping they can "upgrade" their seat choice by a) playing stupid and b) hoping that the real owners of the seats won't complain. When it happens to me, I DO complain.

bluetoast

I agree that it's hard to fuck up, since you either select the seats on your own via the screen, or the dude actually asks you what seats you want. Now that you mention it, it's more likely due to playing dumb.

Obi-Wanma

Yeah, even if you're buying them at the Box office, in my experience it will come up on screen, and at a minimum, the guy will show you where he has you and if that's ok or if you want to select any thing else that available (indicated by a certain color).

I could see some dumbass who hasn't been there before just saying yeah without really paying attention though.

asianxcore

I love doing this as well. There are usually only a few people there and the ones that are there (as you mentioned), are respectful.

Also the first screenings of the day are always the cheapest, so you can't beat that!

Kal-El

When my wife and I went to the 17-min preview for Guardians, the theater was packed and it was hard to find a seat. We found two empty ones separated by 3 people. We asked each of the persons beside it if either was taken. They both confirmed that it was not, so we politely asked if they minded scooching over a seat (in either direction) so my wife and I could sit together. Well, douche 1 looked at douche 2, both shook their heads and didn’t budge. Mind you, it’s not like the seats were dead center relative to the screen. It was 3 away from the aisle and we were about 5 rows from the top. I couldn’t believe it. How much of a douche do you have to be to not want to move one seat over for something that’s only 17 minutes long?

Brack

Your best bet in this instance is to talk to the theater staff. Usually when a movie is packed/sold out, a staff member will ask the audience to kindly make their way to the middle of the theater. That way douches will feel less singled out and comply.

Why So Blu?

First come, first served, homie. That's how it is. They got there before you did Those is the bricks.

Numanoid

Not true. I had to sit through The Avengers with three preteens gabbing away in their recliners next to me at an iPic. People with money can be ill-mannered, too.

Why So Blu?

And at an iPic? You tell them to STFU or you get someone. Especially at those prices.

RoboDad

That isn't quite how the theater management usually looks at it. They want butts in every seat, and if it comes down to two customers demanding a refund (and possibly being angry enough to start spending their money at another theater), they will usually instruct the rude idiots to move over ONE SEAT EACH.

hanshotfirst1138

I went to Hero, and there was a couple making out hot and heavy on the floor next to me. I'm not sure if I was distracted or just jealous . My local AMC is pretty good about their service, even if lots of the clientele are annoying and checking their phones. I wrote to them once about a bad DCP, and got a very nice letter from the projectionist who told me all kinds of technical stuff that I actually understood thanks to all of my years here. They keep things pretty clean and moving on time, it's just the annoying moviegoers who like to play with their phones and talk. I'm a little guiltily of the latter, but usually not too much, certainly not the extent of long blasted conversations.

Alan Smithee

There needs to be something online you can print out and just hand to anyone in a theater who's being annoying. Remember a few times when there were SO many different groups of people talking, that I didn't know how to tell them all at once to shut the fuck up, and if I'd told them individually they'd think I was singling them out and ignoring the others. At today's prices I don't know why people go if they're not going to actually watch the fucking movie.

fumanstan

Like others, i've largely switched to morning shows and haven't had major issues in years with other folks. And for big movies, I'm lucky enough to have an excellent reserved theater chain near me as well that serves food and drinks. I do those for the big blockbuster opening weekends.

davidh777

"on the floor"--did they get stuck in pools of spilled soda?

joliom

We used to have a dollar movie theater here and you wouldn't believe the shit that went down during some of the late night screenings. I don't know how old you are or how long you've lived in New York City, but if you remember the 42nd Street grindhouse theaters of the '70s then you could probably imagine worse.

joliom

Babies should never be allowed in movie theaters. If you can't afford a babysitter, then you shouldn't be going to the movies.

My Other Self

When I saw The Dark Knight in IMAX on opening weekend, a young teenage couple with their child brought the baby in its car seat in the theater. They apparently thought that it gave them a free seat, so they put it in my chair. When I showed them it was reserved seating, and it was my seat, they started arguing. Eventually they relented, and put the kid in the seat on the floor. Within the first 5 minutes, due to the noise and bass, the kid (who was probably only a few months old) started crying uncontrollably, and rather than try consoling it, told him/her to shut up. After about another 10 minutes, the mom ended up taking the kid and left. Dad followed a little while later.

Some people are just idiots.

Xiroteus

That would be best. I know I would not bother going with a baby.

Giles

thirty bucks down the drain too.