Last night we had this couple show up, 20 minutes into "Along Came a Spider," WITH A BABY.

So they're out there bumbling around in the dark getting settled, the kid is crying and fidgeting, they're talking, etc. and ruining the movie for everyone else. I finally gave them a slight "Could you please be a little quieter, the other people can probably hear you" and they just looked at me like I was an a-hole. On top of it, they probably didn't understand the movie since they missed the whole beginning.

Sad thing is, the industry needs every dollar it can get right now... so it's hard to turn anyone away...

If I am PAYING for my seat I get really peeved off when some usher comes in and asks me to move my seat because some other idiot can't show up on time. I paid for my ticket (theoretically) and I showed up on time. These idiots that come in late and need an usher to find a seat for them ought to be shot!

I know that the usher is only doing his job but I don't feel any remorse in saying, "No" when asked to move.

This is not to say that if I see the theatre selling out and there are still a few more minutes before showtime that I won't move. I realize that there are sometimes long lines at the box office and concession stands. I will know this because I, myself, have probably gone through those same lines. Still, people ought to have enough brains to figure out that there will be long lines on Saturday night!

As far as moving patrons goes, here is what I do:

I think assigning seats or making people move would drive people away. I like the idea of limiting the number of people that can come in late.

I typically show up 20 minutes or more (usually more, often 30 minutes or more) before the scheduled show time and if I expect a large crowd, I'll buy my ticket earlier in the day so I can just walk in as soon as the auditorium is available. I'm often the first person in the auditorium for a movie.

The problem with people too lazy to show up on time is that in most stadium seating auditoriums, they have to walk across the field of view of the people sitting in the first three or four rows of the stadium section (best seats).

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Evans A Criswell
Huntsville-Decatur Movie Theatre Info Site

I have had NUMEROUS people come to buy tickets after the show has started. THEY ALWAYS WANT A DISCOUNT BECAUSE THEY MISSED THE THE BEGINNING OF THE MOVIE. What's up with people's common sense these days ?!?!?!. We are located in a small mall(rhyming was not intended) and I LOVE closing the doors 20 minutes after the film was scheduled to start i.e. 7pm showtime means a 7:20 LOCKDOWN. It ruins the show for EVERYONE(I've had complaints to prove it) when someone comes in and walks/talks and balks(rhyming was intended.... this time) after the show's rolling.

I hate latecomers. I have had them get upset that the movie has started without them, 20 minutes late. People expect that we have 15 minutes of trailers. I explain to them that as a small independent theatre, we don't get so many trailers, so we usually have 2 and they might play for as long as 5 minutes, but perhaps only for 3 minutes.

The Governor of Colorado used to come to our cinema in Denver. The first one, Dick Lamb had his chief of security call up and ask if it was all right for the Governor to attend. We always said yes and signed him in on the guest list. They always arrived 2 minutes before the show and sat in the balcony.

The next Governor of the State of Colorado was Romer and he never called, always arrived 20 minutes late, paid his $6 and then spent half the film in the lobby talking on his cell phone. But he never complained, so whatever. Apparently he was 20 minutes late for everything.

I know people who habitually go to the movies late. They fart around their house trying to find things they're supposed to take along or you get the last minute question, "does this dress look good on me?" I've already got ants in my pant and am trying to keep my manners when replying, "the theater is going to be dark, you'll be sitting down, no one will see --but you look fine anyway, let's get the hell out of here already."

People always think there is going to be 20 or 30 minutes worth of trailers on the front of the film, so they'll time their "just getting there in time" thing to that and actually just start driving to the theater after the advertised start time. Then they screw around at the refreshment counter in a line significantly longer than they imagined would be there. By the time they are entering the auditorium, the first act might be completely done. If it is a new movie, most of the seats are taken. Then you have the usher asking guys who got to the theater on time like Randy Stankey to move to another seat.

Mr/Mrs. latecomer, you seemed to have dropped something, please allow me to get it for you....

You guys think FilmGuard is good?

It's nothing compared to BabyQuiet. Comes in a spray can, all you do is spray a little on the baby, it settles down and just sits there and GRINS! And grins.... and grins...

After the show, the people can take it home and use it for a doorstop.

And Coming Soon... Our New Invention for day care centers. Looks a little like a microwave, but isn't. You put the baby inside, set the timer for when its owners want to pick it up, it goes into suspended animation until the bell rings and it's time to take it out.