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“Barbenheimer” might be good for theaters, but it’s bringing out some bad behavior in theatergoers.
Many attendees are forgetting the cardinal rule: Never take out a phone during the film. Instead, people are picking out selfies to post, scrolling during dull moments, even taking pictures of the screen—with the flash on. The cinephiles sitting next to them have to decide whether to keep quiet or make an even bigger scene.
Vikash Patel goes to the movies most weeks in Savannah, Ga. The 27-year-old convenience-store owner watched “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” during opening weekend. During his “Barbie” evening showing, someone took photos and videos during a Ken monologue. Patel didn’t complain, but he says he heard several people in his row groan.
“There’s a concert-ification of movies,” Patel says. “You want to experience the movie and share the experience at the same time.”
Etiquette at public events has become harder to control and manage after the pandemic. At concerts, fans are rowdier than ever, shrieking at artists, blocking people’s views with signs, even throwing items at artists. At Broadway shows, Playbill inserts now remind people to turn off their phones and let the actors do the singing. And now, some movie venues are posting videos to teach people how to behave.
“Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” continue to do well at the box office, together grossing more than $1 billion in ticket sales globally. This creates a double-edged sword for theater operators: Hot movies put people back in the seats. But if a few attendees ruin the shared experience, more movie lovers might wait for the streaming version to come to their living rooms.
Screens at screenings
If you want to see clips from the hottest movies, just go to TikTok.
Sierra Moon, a 29-year-old book-publishing marketer in Philadelphia, pulled a Barbenheimer during opening weekend—and even saw “Barbie” a second time. Between showings, she came across scenes from both movies on TikTok. And during her “Barbie” screenings, she saw people taking photos and continuing to use their phones.
“It’s the first time I noticed that many people taking pictures of the screen during a movie,” Moon says. She imagines it will only get worse with coming flicks like the Timothée Chalamet-led “Wonka,” whose trailer already drove TikTokers into a small frenzy.
“There has been a big shift in how we act when we’re in a movie theater and what the rules are these days,” Moon says.
Lexi Weigl, a 25-year-old operations coordinator at a marketing agency, watched “Barbie” without issue until about halfway through the movie. A few rows down, someone pulled out her phone. The woman scrolled through her notifications, then turned to her camera roll to decide which Barbie-outfit selfie to post on Instagram, says Weigl, who lives near Savannah, Ga.
Though Weigl was frustrated and angry, she tried to ignore it.
“I tried to just tune it out and focus on the movie because I’m watching ‘Barbie’ and I paid to be here,” she says. “But at the same time, it was like, ‘Come on, this is so disrespectful.’”
Alamo Drafthouse, a theater chain where patrons can order alcohol and food at their seats, has been calling out this kind of behavior on TikTok over the past year. Last week, it tweeted a photo someone had taken with the flash on during “Oppenheimer,” asking guests to not “even touch your phone during the movie.”
Alamo trains its staff to issue a one-time verbal warning to any guest who’s disruptive at the movies, says Michael Kustermann, president and incoming chief executive of the company.
“We understand the level of enthusiasm,” Kustermann says. “Get there early and take a picture of the crowd while the lights are still on.”
Theater chains across the country are offering social-media photo ops in the lobbies, including giant Barbie boxes and other sets.
“The time to share the enthusiasm and excitement about that journey is after it ends,” says Michael O’Leary, CEO of the National Association of Theatre Owners, a trade organization. “We always want to maintain the cinema as that special place where you shut out the distractions of everyday life and devote a couple of hours to a compelling story.”
Movie manners
People got used to sitting at home during the pandemic, quickly posting photos of whatever they were watching on-screen.
“I feel like ‘Barbie’ was ripe for it—being a movie that fans would feel comfortable or encouraged to do something like that,” says Chris Lambert, a 36-year-old who runs a movie explanation website and lives in the Austin, Texas, area. He watched “Barbie” twice during opening weekend and saw someone take out his phone to take photos of Margot Robbie, the movie’s star, not once but twice.
But the behavior isn’t welcome when others in the audience are trying to escape smartphones and enjoy a show.
“We’re at a point where it’s very easy for people to prioritize sharing something online at the expense of those around them,” he says.
At least now there’s enough “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” footage online, nobody needs to film any more.