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Phone-Friendly Movie Theaters For Millennials Could Be Reality Soon (variety.com)

Posted by msmash on from the that-escalated-quickly dept.

An anonymous reader writes: AMC Entertainment realizes Millennials' increasingly growing love for and reliance on smartphones for things, which is why it says it is open to the idea of phone-friendly movie theaters. "When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don't ruin the movie, they hear 'please cut off your left arm above the elbow,'" Adam Aron, AMC Entertainment CEO tells Variety. "You can't tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That's not how they live their life." Aron believes that AMC needs "to reshape our product in some concrete ways so that millennials go to movie theaters with the same degree of intensity as baby boomers went to movie theaters throughout their lives." AMC also realizes that if it allows people to use cellphones in theater, and text and talk to their friends, this might disturb the fellow citizen who just want to watch the god-damn movie in peace. He says the company is "going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn't disturb today's audiences. [...] That's one possibility. What may be more likely is we take specific auditoriums and make them more texting-friendly."

16 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Dear Adam. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Grow a pair.

    Seriously, you can tell a 22 year old to not be a dickhead unless you're willing to lose the older generation of cinema-goers. (Remember those - the people who paid off their crippling student debts and have disposable income?)

    1. Re:Dear Adam. by __aaclcg7560 · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Some those dickheads are the same "people who paid off their crippling student debts and have disposable income". I was waiting to watch a movie when I heard a grandmother behind me shared her grandkid's pictures on Facebook via her cellphone. A moment later her five girlfriends were cooing over the pics on their own cellphones. Annoying as a hell.

    2. Re:Dear Adam. by BasilBrush · · Score: 1, Insightful

      And that's why capitalism is so shit.

    3. Re:Dear Adam. by Rakarra · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's not about growing a pair, it's about maximizing income.
        Do you:

      A) Keep the kids out, because they want to use their phone more than they want to see a movie, or
      B) Keep the old people out, because they can't handle modern technology and society.

      The answer is: do which ever one makes you the most income.

      I think it's focusing on the short term at the expense of the long term. They're not building good relationships by alienating all their existing customers, just to bring in customers whose loyalty is suspect anyway. The millennials will move on to the next toy experience, and everyone will treat the theater as a place to be avoided.. the place to see the movie because thanks to deals between theaters and studios, it's the ONLY way to legally see a movie at release. Going there because you don't have much choice if you want to see the movie is undercutting their long-term sustainability.

    4. Re:Dear Adam. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Some people might be trying to pay attention to the coming attractions. The cinema is a place to shut up and watch. If you want to be loud and obnoxious, go to a pub or do it in your home.

  2. Great idea! by PvtVoid · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Separate auditoriums for people who text in the theater! Just lock the doors and leave them in there permanently.

    1. Re:Great idea! by sbrown7792 · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Basically, the idea that The Oatmeal drew out awhile ago.
      Can't say I disagree.

  3. Marshmallow eaters by avandesande · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I suppose these are all the kids that ate their marshmallow right away .

    --
    love is just extroverted narcissism
  4. Can't you just stream it to their mobile phones? by TechnoCore · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ...and have them stay in the lobby during the movie? It will be great!

  5. Bullshit by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don't ruin the movie, they hear 'please cut off your left arm above the elbow,'"

    Speaking as a millennial, this is total bullshit. Only a tiny subset of us actually have a pathological need to be in constant communication with others.

  6. Get the hacksaw ! by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 4, Insightful

    When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don't ruin the movie, they hear 'please cut off your left arm above the elbow, ...

    Sure you can. I'm fine with the arm thing - it's your choice. However, if you *need* it leave it on, put it on vibrate and leave the theater if you get or need to make a call. Seriously, how hard is that? Your need to feel connected shouldn't interfere with others' enjoyment of the movie.

    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  7. Missing the Point (if there even is one) by Quantus347 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "That's not how they live their life." Aron believes that AMC needs "to reshape our product in some concrete ways so that millennials go to movie theaters with the same degree of intensity as baby boomers went to movie theaters throughout their lives."" "That's not how they live their life" is precisely why they won't ever go to the movie theater "with the same degree of intensity as Baby Boomers", regardless of whether you give them a dedicated room or any other accommodation. And the same reason their families will never all sit around the dinner table and talk about their days the same way, or gather for a favorite TV show at the same prime time hour each week. Anybody who cannot unplug themselves from their constant flow of input will never lock in to the movie with the intensity of those that actually focus on it.

    --
    Common Sense isn't as Common as people think...
  8. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by Moof123 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Don't procreate with her. Such bad judgement and inconsiderate behavior will make child rearing a nightmare.

  9. Catering to the lowest common denominator by enjar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I recall a story recently about paying $50 to stream a movie a the day it comes out in the theater. This is why I'd gladly pay $50 to see a movie at home under my own control, with no morons ruining the movie with their damned phones. I can tell my kids to shut up, and I can pause the thing to use the bathroom. I can pop my own popcorn in the microwave and mix up my own adult beverage. $50 would save me a pile of money versus actually going to the theater, and I'd get to talk about the movie with friends -- or we could just have the friends over and all watch the movie together rather than having it ruined by some jerk not even paying attention to the movie because they are texting with their friends.

  10. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by enjar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    You should tell her you need to take a piss, complain to the manager that someone is using their phone during the movie and then let them deal with it. Even though movie tickets are pricey, they are cheaper than divorce or hookers. If you feel bad, slip the manager a twenty and tell them not to recognize you.

  11. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by goose-incarnated · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Unfortunately, I'm married to an otherwise wonderful woman who feels entitled to text in theaters. Every time we go out, I'm forced to choose between standing on the right side of history and getting sexytimes later.

    She is both inconsiderate *AND* weaponising sex - even pizza delivery guys do better than that.

    --
    I'm a minority race. Save your vitriol for white people.