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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."

59 of 321 comments (clear)

  1. Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    With any luck that will keep them out of the regular theaters.

    1. Re:Good by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      With any luck that will keep them out of the regular theaters.

      I'm pushing 70 years old and we go often to the theater.
      I told my wife about AMC's plan, and she said "What? They want to build a theater just for assholes?"

  2. 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 Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      "waiting to watch a movie"

      Speaking of dickheads, how about those people who expect peace and quiet in a movie theatre BEFORE THE FEATURE STARTS?

    3. Re:Dear Adam. by DarkOx · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Remember those - the people who paid off their crippling student debts and have disposable income?

      Here is a little demographic note for you:

      Nielsen takes a look at annual moviegoer trends as awards season continues. According to Nielsen NRGâ(TM)s (National Research Groupâ(TM)s) 2012 American Moviegoing report, 70 percent of Americans ages 12 and older reported seeing one or more movies at a theater in the last 12 months, which is in line with moviegoing in the year prior. The demographic makeup of the moviegoing audience has remained relatively consistent over the last couple of years, but the proportion of younger moviegoers (12-24) and oldest moviegoers (65-74) has grown gradually at the expense of middle-aged moviegoers (25-54).

      So the long store short is that, you are not growth portion of the market. middle aged people also don't have more disposable income than college kids. Probably because most them that have kids are using their disposable income to send them to either college or the movies :-P.

      So even though you and I might not like it, business savvy theater owners will cater to their audience which happens to be 22 years who won't turn off their phones.

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    4. Re:Dear Adam. by Austerity+Empowers · · Score: 2

      willing to lose the older generation of cinema-goers

      We can afford nice home theaters, comfortable furniture and houses. We also can't go to the movies weeknights, often we can't go at all because we can't find a babysitter and leaving our spouse at home is not a good way to stay in her good graces, etc. Millenials are still young and unchained, and don't value their dwellings so much as a good time.

    5. Re:Dear Adam. by spire3661 · · Score: 5, Informative

      Lights on, talk all you want. Lights off, shut the fuck up.

      --
      Good-bye
    6. Re:Dear Adam. by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 2

      What about when that 22 year old becomes some ones bitch after getting busted for live streamlining the new hot movie?

    7. Re: Dear Adam. by nehumanuscrede · · Score: 4, Informative

      No, we actually we have much more disposable income than the college crowd, we just refuse to sit through Phone-Fest when the movie starts because smartphones are the digital equivilent of a security blanket for some people. Take it away for even a little while and they lose their fucking minds.

      As such, we'll buy the giganto screen TV, and a house shaking sound system to match, then watch the show in the comfort of our home when it releases to Pay Per view, Netflix, Blu-Ray, whatever floats your boat.

      My food, snacks, alcohol, rules and I can pause it if need be.

      Greater amounts of disposable income seems to be the work around for clueless idiots and their smartphone obsessions.

    8. Re:Dear Adam. by BasilBrush · · Score: 4, Informative

      They were right, you were wrong.

    9. 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.

    10. Re: Dear Adam. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

      I work for AMC, not a decision maker, just a rank-and-file IT guy, and while I can't speak for our decision makers, IMHO you've exactly nailed it.

      If we catered to people who would rather get a nearly-as-good home theatre experience, we'd already be sucking wind as a company.

      Instead, we're doing great, on track to become the biggest movie exhibitor in the world later this year, by trying to make the guest experience as good as we can for the largely-young, cellphone-addicted demographic that want a social experience at the theatre and who actually do want to come OUT to see movies.

      So, instead of lowering prices or trying to cram ever-more-asses in ever-smaller-seats, we're taking OUT huge numbers of seats in order to put in more-comfortable recliners, adding bars to meet your friends, adding dine-in options to auditoriums, trying to push the envelope with A/V / 3D as much as we can to make the viewing experience better than you can get at home, putting butt-thumping transducers in those aforementioned recliners, and, yes, thinking of offering separate auditoriums for those who can't turn their phones off so as to segregate them from those who'd rather not be distracted.

      Let's be honest, for us cranky old folks who just want to watch and have the kids get off our yard, the movie theatre was NEVER a great place to watch a movie distraction-free.

      Though I'm an old guy who's happy to turn the damn cell phone off for a couple hours, I'm proud of my company for trying to adapt to the times, rather than lobbying Congress to outlaw phones in theatres and convince people to keep buying our buggy whips.

    11. 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.

    12. Re:Dear Adam. by FlyHelicopters · · Score: 2

      Just an accident officer. The other patrons will back me up.

      Maybe... maybe not... depends on how many friends are with the kid you dumped the soda on...

      Another option is that you get your ass kicked because he came with 10 friends...

      Or worse, you get shot...

      You think it is funny, it won't be funny then...

    13. Re: Dear Adam. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

      Yeah, getting shot... That's why I don't go to the movies in third-world shitholes like Somalia or the US.

    14. Re: Dear Adam. by SethJohnson · · Score: 2

      Instead, we're doing great, on track to become the biggest movie exhibitor in the world later this year...

      Just wanted to remind people that AMC only projects movies that have been approved by North Korea. Same with Carmike chain, which they're trying to merge-with.

      --
      $5 / month hosted VPS on linux = awesome!
    15. Re:Dear Adam. by dinfinity · · Score: 2

      What is baffling to me is that people seem to think that millennials don't care if somebody other than themselves or their friends is on their phone during a movie.

      Sure, some people are not interested in any movie at any time whatsoever, but otherwise I imagine that plenty of 'millennials' think it's really annoying when other people are on their phone during a movie (of a genre) they themselves really like.

      It's a pretty human thing to hold yourself to a different standard than 'other people'.

    16. Re: Dear Adam. by Whatanut · · Score: 2

      I actually go outside to the edge of my property to gauge the impact of my sound system on the surrounding neighborhood. And I live out in the country. There are plenty of us that have the means and capability to not go to the theaters.

      This is just another reason for me to not go. Yes, they may draw one crowd. They'll exclude another. As long as they make money in the long run, who gives a shit? That's what business is all about.

      --

      yvan eht nioj
  3. 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.

    2. Re:Great idea! by Darinbob · · Score: 2

      I like the announcement that Alamo Drafthouse theaters give before the start of the show, which was the voice mail from a drunk and self entitled patron who used the phone during the movie and got kicked out for it, which inevitably has the audience cheering.

  4. 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
  5. 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!

  6. Formalizing what they already do, basically. by thevirtualcat · · Score: 2

    Basically a no-op. If AMC has a policy against texting, they sure don't enforce it. This just means they won't have to give free passes to people who complain about it.

    That's why I'm willing to drive 45 minutes to the nearest Alamo or ArcLight or other cinema that actually enforce rules against being disruptive.

  7. 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.

    1. Re:Bullshit by Stephenmg · · Score: 2

      I completely agree. I do not think this is a millennial problem. I go to the theater a lot, and I'm in this age group as well, the one's I see using there phones are either younger 12-15 year old or older such as in the 40s or 50s. I only see it maybe one movie in every 20 or 30 that I go to. It also depends on the movie that is showing, tend to see it more in comedies aimed at teens or those romance dramas. If they really want to attract millennials, this is not the way to do it. My suggestion is offer a place social engagement before or after the movie. Look at some of the things Alamo drafthouse is doing with a bar attached to the theater plus good dine in theaters with good food that you'd find in a decent restaurant. There is even one not very far from there new expensive Leawood Headquarters in downtown Kansas City, I'm sure they they can find it, it use to be an AMC.

    2. Re:Bullshit by bug_hunter · · Score: 2

      You've sorta boxed him into an unfair corner there don't you think?

      Accusation : Millennial's would rather cut off their arm than stop texting
      Millennial : That's not true
      Accusation : Millennial's can't help but make angry protests online

      --
      It's turtles all the way down.
    3. Re:Bullshit by dwillden · · Score: 2

      Until the next "generation" is given a catchy name they get the blame. The Millenials are the current targets, a decade ago it was Gen Y, the decade before that it was Gen X. The complaints don't change (Lazy, thoughtless, self absorbed, going to destroy civilization as we know it, etc...) just the name applied to the current 20 something group of adults exiting college and entering the workforce.

      --
      I'm too lazy to compose a creative sig.
  8. Sleeping with the enemy by daveywest · · Score: 5, Funny

    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.

    1. 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.

    2. 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.

    3. 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.
    4. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

      She is both inconsiderate *AND* weaponizing sex

      So, yes, we've established that she is, in fact, female.

    5. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by rickb928 · · Score: 2

      The first time he does this, she will see the pattern and that's the end of that.

      Do not take on the professional.

      --
      deleting the extra space after periods so i can stay relevant, yeah.
    6. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by IMightB · · Score: 2

      I can tell you're not married. What part of sexytime vs being right do you not understand?

    7. Re:Sleeping with the enemy by enjar · · Score: 2

      You can't have a pattern of one ... it would take at least twice. But probably end up in the same place.

      Honestly, though, if OP can't tell his wife to shut off her phone because it's damned rude and inconsiderate to other theater goers, it speaks volumes about how they communicate and what she thinks about him, since by extension, he's "that rude woman's husband". That's not an "otherwise wonderful woman", that's selfish behavior that takes her husband down with her. Then she withholds sex.

      OP, seriously, in a relationship you need to stand up for what you need / believe in and be able to have frank conversations with your spouse, and not be held hostage by sexy time. That's unhealthy in so many different ways.

  9. Two Things I Want by sehlat · · Score: 4, Interesting

    1. Broadcast the soundtrack to the phone so you can wear earphones and not be bothered by idiots who aren't watching the movie.

    2. Broadcast subtitles to VR glasses on the same phone with the focus distance == screen distance. One of the main reasons I don't go to movies is hearing problems. With current technology, subtitle focus distance and screen distance are literally yards apart.

    1. Re:Two Things I Want by duke_cheetah2003 · · Score: 2

      1. Broadcast the soundtrack to the phone so you can wear earphones and not be bothered by idiots who aren't watching the movie.

      Enh. Silent does little good for me. That bright screen alone is very distracting. If you can't live without your phone for 2 hours, there's something wrong with you.

    2. Re:Two Things I Want by pr0fessor · · Score: 2

      My son had a gf that would basically sit on the couch with him doing what the heck ever on her cell phone and called it spending time together. If he tried to leave the room or go do something other than sit next to her being ignored she would get mad.

      I told him if it bothered him he should break up with her by text with a smiley. "i want to break up :)" "we in the same room u ain't said nothen for 2 hours"

  10. Not Long For This World by JBMcB · · Score: 2

    Alamo Drafthouse is going to eat their lunch:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

    In the Detroit area we have E-Magine theaters, which have whole-theater reserved seating and electric recliners, and a similar no-phone policy.
    They make the AMC theaters look like dinosaurs.

    --
    My Other Computer Is A Data General Nova III.
  11. Re:Can't you just stream it to their mobile phones by sehlat · · Score: 2

    MPAA: But ... but... somebody will pirate the movie that way!!!!! Noooooooooooooo!

  12. Goodbye AMC by psergiu · · Score: 2
    Goodbye AMC, Hello Alamo Drafthouse

    Quoting from: https://drafthouse.com/about :

    We have zero tolerance for talking or cell phone use of any kind during movies, and we aren't afraid to kick anyone rude enough to start texting their friends during a show right out of the theater.

    --
    1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
  13. 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. . . .
  14. this is /. so, where are the blockers? by turkeydance · · Score: 2

    cell jammers are cheap enough. they'll try and might give up.

  15. So fucking stupid by Actually,+I+do+RTFA · · Score: 2

    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

    Thanks to high screen TVs, good home sound systems, quick-to-home releases (to cut into piracy) that's never going to happen. (Hell, and homes having AC) Oh, and the unmitigated dreck being produced that's all nostalgia. But the solution is clearly to take something away from the theater experience, and make it less able to compete.

    Oh, and Box Office records are still getting broken constantly, so, this seems like it's in search of a problem.

    Unrelated to my point: I recently saw a fist-fight at a theater over someone using a phone. The guy using the phone deserved getting hit. He was an ass.

    --
    Your ad here. Ask me how!
  16. 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...
    1. Re:Missing the Point (if there even is one) by Obfuscant · · Score: 2

      OK. I'd personally pay $5 more for this,

      Why? I really do not understand what this desire to see random comments from people I don't know popping up on screen during a program or movie is all about. The producer and director have spent a lot of time trying to create a mood that enhances the movie, and you'd pay extra to see snotty or snide comments pasted on the screen?

      BBC America did this with the last season of Dr. Who. They ran the series normally, and the second time through they put up tweets from the viewers. Really? We're in the middle of a critical scene and I need to be distracted by a comment that FrodPerfect thinks this is the best scene in the show? Or SeuEllen points out the nice scarf that one of the extras is wearing?

      I watched exactly one episode like this and gave up.

      Now, if you're talking about campy schlock that has been around for two decades or more, like Svengoolie or MST3K shows, then yeah, the comments are the show. But first-release or first rerun?

      This makes about as much sense as a director paying people to stand just off-camera shining bright lights into the lens to create lens flare. And I'm talking to you, Abrams. Every flash doesn't enhance the video, it simply reminds the viewer that they're looking through a camera at a set of actors and not really looking into a real event. Same with tagged tweets.

  17. 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.

  18. It's only theory by Hognoxious · · Score: 4, Funny

    "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,'"

    Could we try demonstrating the difference to them with a practical experiment?

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  19. They are addressing the wrong problem by Justt+Some+Guy · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Rather then bring them into a theater, why not just put up a screen in their snack bar/cafe/restaurant and let them have the option of using headphones on their cell-phone to hear the the soundtrack delivered by a local Wi-Fi stream? Maybe Lay-z-Boy type seating with a snack table in front of you, too.

    That way they can talk to whoever on the phone during the movie without disturbing anyone else.

    Hell, they could offer them a golden multi showing super-ticket so the restaurant does not need to be cleared out. They can watch a marathon if they want, as long as they keep eating snacks and ordering more $20 sodas. Can you say Lord of the Rings/Hobbit/Star Wars/Star Trek marathons, anyone?

    They can sell more top shelf items, such as real pizza to order, burgers and fries, salads, etc, not just the crap they sell now. They make their actual profit from the food they sell anyway, might was well cater to folks who like to splurge while enjoying the latest first run movies,

  20. Re:Create a "Cry Room" by cogeek · · Score: 2

    Would you believe, we've perfected the Cone of Silence, it just happens to look very similar to a plastic bag....

  21. Get Off My Lawn!! by neo-mkrey · · Score: 2

    that is all

  22. Etiquette is still a thing by fieldstone · · Score: 2

    I'm technically a millennial (born in 1982, which counts according to some definitions) and I think this is complete crap. I use my smartphone all the time, but I have no problem putting it into airplane mode or turning it off when I'm in a movie. Even if I'm only texting or browsing on it, the light pollution bothers other people. This is no different from avoiding loud talking in a movie. Follow the basic etiquette, or watch the movie later in your home where your own rules apply.

  23. gees by Eyezen · · Score: 2

    What is so fucking special about this generation that it is constantly being pandered to? It seems not a single person/entity can say know to it.

    And we wonder why they feel entitled, we make 'em so.

  24. Funny, Cinemark doesn't have this problem.. by TigerPlish · · Score: 2

    That the AMC CEO said it is worrisome -- it shows he doesn't care one bit about presentation. And if he doesn't, then his underlings won't, either.

    Good for AMC, it'll only accelerate their demise. I've not been happy with their presentation for a long time now.. I stopped going to AMC completely.

    Maybe they can do what some theaters did back in the smoking era - a lot of the cinemas back home (Puerto Rico) that were built in the late 70's early 80's had a glassed-in standing-room-only section at the very back where you could smoke, then return to your seat in the auditorium.

    Funny thing is, Cinemark doesn't have this problem.. I go to one from time to time, I don't see a sea of glowing phones during the feature. Maybe the snipe featuring self-absorbed teens lost in the screen and calling them out as mindless has something to do with it? I can't find it anywhere, but it starts "It's movie night and the big screen beckons, but the small screen won't go away"

    It's anvilicious, with bits like "Watch the movie on this giant screen made for movies." And, "Go away, pocket screen"

    --
    The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
  25. Arclight Cinemas by davesays · · Score: 2

    https://www.arclightcinemas.co... Reserved seating, no cell phones - period.

  26. Re:Silly by aXis100 · · Score: 2

    Usually it's a good idea to pay attention when filling your car with explosively volatile hydrocarbons.

    I know we get desensitized because it's an everyday thing, but I'm not convinced that letting people chat on their phones at the pump is prudent.

  27. Will they now ENFORCE rules in normal theatres? by AbRASiON · · Score: 2

    I get the impression it's an epidemic of talking and phone use in the US cinemas, I've got several US friends and anecdotally online there appears to be a LOT of talking or phoning over there, especially from one particular demographic (hey, I keep hearing it consistently)

    I had a US friend come over here for a month and she checked out the cinema 4 times with me in that time, she was utterly shocked that (for the most part) people are generally quiet here, no phones out, etc. It does happen but I get the impression FAR more over there.

    Will the cinemas which now offer a movie going experience for inconsiderate assholes who want to talk and use their phone, surely the regular experience will be policed better, right?
    I'll yell at people if I have to over here (not often) but I get the impression doing it over there might end up in a fight.