DVD Talk Forum - Whats your movie ritual? (2024)

Usually I am among the first people in the theater. I like to get there early to get my preferred seat and see the previews. I probably get there about 20-30 minutes early if I can (on a normal day) and sometimes earlier if it is opening day for a big picture (especially if it is on IMAX).

I like to sit dead center in the row that has the handrail in front of it. I like to put my feet up and that row is one of the only places you can ensure you won't have someone sitting in front of you. If I do get in and there are people sitting in "my spot" I find another spot in the center; if I see someone has their feet up, I try to avoid sitting directly in front of them if I can help it. I too will put my feet up in an effort to deter people from sitting in front of me, but if they do I will put my feet down.

Usually I just bring a bottle of water in with me. On some occasions though, especially if I go with friends, we'll get the Jumbo Popcorn and Sourpatch Kids; I'll still bring my water though.

The movie and whom I go with determines whether or not I will stay through the credits. If I go alone (which I do quite often since most people don't like to go to the movies all the time and at random times during the day), then I have no problem staying through the credits, but when I am with people I am hesitant to make the entire group wait. The type of movie also affects this decision.

Also, I throw away any trash left over (usually just a water bottle). Also, I save my ticket stubs. Not sure when I started doing that regularly; the earliest one I have is Hellboy, but I obviously saw lots of movies before that and even after that one I didn't start retaining them on a regular basis for a decent amount of time.

I don't often go to the theater but this is my "ritual."

-No popcorn, because my stomach doesn't sit well with it in dark space with a lot of people.

-I stretch my neck and leg muscles before entering the door.

-In 10 minutes before the show to chuckle at advertisem*nts and trailers, or to see local ads.

-I observe people who jump out of their seat (during and after the movie).

tsk, tsk...

I've been known to bring in rum to spike my co*ke.

I like to get to the theatres at least thirty minutes before hand to either get in line or get the prime seats - middle section.

Before meeting my wife:

Sit front row, as close to center as possible. Once upon a time, I'd buy a Sprite and Junior Mints, but that ended more than a decade ago.

Since meeting my wife:

Sit in the middle near the center of the auditorium. Arrive with nearly no time to spare and have to wait for her to buy popcorn and a drink. Half the time I go in and have to deal with the seat-saving nonsense.

In both eras, I stay through the end credits. Partly this is to ensure I don't miss something, partly it's to make sure that the crowd dissipates before I'm on my way to the car and partly it's to make up for not getting to sit in the front row anymore.

Best line in this whole thread.
And I totally get it.

Another one who starts to worry if the lights dont go out... But also, I go to the theatre in Astoria a lot and there is many times when I have to go to the manager because they didnt start the movie on time.

Im a bit different because Im always at the end of the row and usually sit where there are only 2-3 seats so no one sits next to my wife and I. I also like to sit in the back row of the section closest to the screen so no one can sit behind me. And Im about to stop seeing movies in Manhattan during the weekday, because there is always some homeless bum or meth addict who cant shut up the entire movie.

I got to the Muvico Premiere in Boca Raton... its the only way I can watch movies now. Private balcony for Premiere customers, reserved seats purchased online (always front row balcony, dead center), huge semi-reclining seats with arm rests that have room for popcorn, drinks, food (which you can get at the restaurant, like sushi, egg rolls, calamari, sandwiches, etc.), free popcorn and valet parking, and NOBODY UNDER THE AGE OF 21 ALLOWED.

It's a $10 premium over the price of a ticket, so for me and my wife, a night out at the movies runs $42 for tickets alone. BUT with reserved seats and free valet parking, I can show up 10 minutes before showtime and not have to rush or worry.

The downside is that premium seats are generally reserved for first-run, A-list movies, so if I want to see an independent, foreign, or art film, it won't be available. However, for the BIG movies I want to see (Star Trek, Watchmen, Dark Knight, Iron Man, Hulk, etc.) it's a total no brainer.

Otherwise, I generally show up about 30-40 minutes ahead of time, grab some popcorn/soda, grab a center seat somewhere between midway and the back of the theater, and get up to pee about 5 minutes before showtime.

I like to be early and if I'm with a group I'm jerky about it. Its because I care about where I sit and hate the whole "search for a seat during the previews" thing that perpetually late people seem to not care about.

Anyway, get there about 20 mins early, get ticket, take a piss, grab a seat (depends on the size of the theater but I want to be in the few rows roughly before the middle of the theater). I usually dont buy concessions. Not because of the bloated cost, I just like to snack on stuff like trail mix which theaters tend to not have, so I smuggle my own. I will occasionally grab ice cream if they got good stuff but of course thats gone before the previews start. I never drink during movies.

I used to enjoy seeing movies opening weekend, with a big crowd. I still don't mind it that much, as long as the crowd is boisterous, but not obnoxious. It's a fine line. A summer blockbuster can be made more enjoyable if I'm with an enthusiastic crowd.

My daughter likes going on opening night with her friends because the crowd on opening night, particularly for franchise films, is filled with people who are totally into the movie and react to it in ways that make it more fun to watch.

I like to see comedies with a crowd that will laugh, but I usually don't get a chance to until well into its run and then good luck trying to find a showing with anything remotely resembling a real audience. Plus, nobody laughs at the comedies I go to. When I went to see BURN AFTER READING, it was tough getting a laugh out of the crowd, even with John Malkovich at his most insane (the only really funny parts in the film, to be sure).

(Although I'm the one who found 300, TRANSFORMERS, PLANET TERROR, PUNISHER WAR ZONE and the CRANK films to be good comedies. Whereas anything with Will Ferrell leaves me stonefaced.)

Only things close I have:

- I prefer to sit in the top row, the very corner of the aisle. I can't stand people on both sides of me.

- After I watch a movie, I immediately go to IMDB and check out trivia, box office info, release dates, quotes, etc.

You show up to the movies an hour early?!

I arrive around 5-10 minutes before showtime, adding five minutes if I want concessions or more time if it's a big show and/or on opening night. I stay through the credits when I feel like it.

I'll arrive at least an hour early if its IMAX, and even then there are already people lined up in the lobby.

I start by printing out the all of theater's showings for that day. I am on a mission to theater hop because $12 for a ticket is just a waste of money. So chart my course, keeping a maximum of 10 minutes between shows, kind of like planning out your connecting flights and giving yourself enough time to pee or get something to eat and find your next theater. I take into account the normal amount of trailers equals 10 - 15 minutes.

I arrive about 20 - 30 minutes early. I will always buy a ticket first to any Sony movie opening... if not, it's the movie 3 - 4 weeks into release. I look at what I've mapped out and make sure I know which theaters have the shows I want to see. Then I go and sit down for the first movie. Sometimes I bring food & water. Sometimes, I'll buy concessions.

I try my best for center seats. 7 - 11 row, center used to be my standard, but stadium seating has changed that somewhat. To me the screen width should just be within your peripheral vision.

You need a theater that has assigned seating :up:

Thank god for the creation of phones with internet. As the credits start rolling i start looking up next showtimes. I feel the exact same way, although i tend to pay for movies i really want to see and go to other movies that i would probably have never have paid for in the first place

Before I developed Crohn's disease I was always an opening-night attendee. And, once The Phantom Menace kicked off the midnight screening trend, I tried to hit those when possible.

We don't make it to nearly as many opening night screenings as we'd like, but I still make a point of them for the franchise movies. Mostly, this is because, as others have mentioned, I like to see those things with an audience that's into it. I was sick the night that Casino Royale opened, so we went the next night for that. It has since become a side ritual of seeing the Daniel Craig era of Bond movies their second night.

Western/Non-Bollywood films:

Normally go alone. Try to get there about 15 minutes early. Get tickets if I haven't already. Get to snack bar and get biggest diet soda and a bag of Twizzlers. If they are not available, I'll settle for Junior Mints or Care Bears Gummi Bears. Get into the theater and find the center seat 6-7 rows back from the front. I like to feel like I'm in a theater, I have an unnatural loathing for stadium seating. I want to crane my neck a little bit, but not too much. Usually stay through the credits.

Bollywood:

The wife comes along for these. We get there 15-20 minutes early. Get tickets. Go to the snack bar and get pakoras and samosas to eat before the film. Then get one huge diet soda to share during the film and candy. Intermission. Usually we take the time to get more Indian food and take it back into the theater for the second half, so does most everyone else so the smell is not distracting really because everyone is eating. Usually stay through the credits.

Usually we go to the Sunday matinee of a movie that's been out for a few weeks. Mrs Danger isn't good with crowds. We get there about 10 minutes early. I like to sit halfway up the screen, but I'm not picky about being in the horizontal center. No soda or candy.

If we go to the locally owned art theater, we both get sodas and share a giant popcorn. They're good people, and can use the extra money. The theater is only about 11 seats wide, so it doesn't matter to me where out seats are.

I usually get to movies at least 30 minutes early. Maybe it's different for the theaters others go to, but around here for big releases there's no way I wait until 5 or 10 minutes before show time. I've been burned too much getting stuck in the front row with friends who are slow getting ready. My girlfriend and I like to get a good seat anyway, and we don't mind seeing the AMC or Regal First Look things. We've also been going more and more to a morning show on Saturday or Sunday, preferably before noon for a $6 ticket. That way we get a decent opening day crowd but not too packed so that we're stuck with bad seats. We usually sit towards the back.

Sometimes we get a snack, sometimes we don't. I like AMC because our theater has a 3 for 7.50 deal for your choice of a small cup of popcorn, small candy, or a small drink/icee. Enough of a snack to get us buy without breaking the bank.

I only stay through the credits if I know there's something during them.