Let's Make Theater Hopping Legal!
Filed under: Fandom, Distribution, Exhibition
Arriving early for a 7:00 p.m. screening at a local multiplex on Friday, I decided to kill some time by sampling some of the other movies that were playing. Feeling like a criminal, I snuck into Surrogates (a small ship crashing, a very young-looking Bruce Willis), The Final Destination (white racist hung by his own petard), and Gamer (John Leguizamo giving Gerard Butler a pep talk). I stayed no more than two or three minutes at each, about the length of a theatrical trailer, and didn't sit down in any of the auditoriums, which were all pretty deserted anyway. Later, near the end of my selection for the evening's entertainment (Zombieland, a lighthearted comedy-horror blast), I saw a familiar multiplex sight: a half-dozen teens sneaking into the movie. And I started thinking, Why not make theater hopping legal?
My idea: You still must buy one ticket to a movie of your choice, and that's the only movie you're guaranteed to see. But the legal language ("the license granted is for a single viewing at the designated time only") is removed, so if that movie sucks, you're free to wander into another auditorium and check out what's playing there. Or bounce in and out of theaters as you please. And if you want to see two (or three) complete movies for the price of one, you're free to do so.
Would this benefit moviegoers? Sure. This will legalize something a good number of people are already doing. Just like downloading music or movies, pirates will still exist, but a majority of folks are law-abiding citizens who prefer to live within the law. People who've paid $9.50 to see a real turkey may not feel quite so ripped-off if they get to see another movie (or part of one) for free.
As a result, they might feel more charitable toward Hollywood, and be more inclined to buy tickets for more movies they might not otherwise check out. After all, if they don't like it, they can see something else as part of the price of admission.
In my case, I'm now more likely to buy a ticket (or rent a DVD) for the movies I snuck into for a few minutes, two of which are on their last legs in theaters, and none of which are being advertised heavily -- or at all -- anymore. I'd almost forgotten about them, even the recent Surrogates, in the flood of newer releases, but now my interest has been revived.
Now you could say: why don't you just buy tickets for all the movies you want to see, you cheap bastard? In fact, I do buy tickets and create my own double or triple features, which I've written about before, but, adding in the cost of concessions (you have to eat occasionally), there's no way I could afford to do that every week, and even doing so every month requires careful planning. I'm thinking about sampling other movies more than necessarily cheapening the cost of watching movies back to back, but either way, I think this would be good for consumers and for exhibitors.
If moviegoers stay in the multiplex longer, chances are good that they'll buy more items from concession stands, and that's where exhibitors make the real profit. If there are concerns that profits are going down, exhibitors could charge more for an afternoon or evening pass, similar to film festivals. A sticking point: I don't know how the accounting would work so that the distributors would all get paid. Maybe a percentage system could be worked out. If there's further concern, the legal theater hopping could be limited to the slower, mid-week days and nights, when theater admissions are much more scarce than the weekend.
Granted, there could be more disruptions in the movies themselves, as groups of people bounce in and out. In an age when rude patrons light up their cell phones and send text messages during movies, however, the problem clearly lies with the individual(s). Respectful moviegoers will be considerate when moving in and out of auditoriums; rude ones will not. Making theater hopping legal won't change their behavior at all.
What it might do is increase interest in a wider variety of movies and keep prospective moviegoers in general from feeling that a night out at the movies is simply too expensive. I'm tired of feeling cheated at the multiplex when I've paid full price, plus another $10-20 for concessions. I want value for my hard-earned money, and I think that making theater hopping legal would help everybody.
Of course, more good movies would help, too.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
10-04-2009 @ 4:13PM
Michael said...
Don't you have anything better to write than this drivel?
Reply
10-05-2009 @ 12:52PM
LordPaul said...
Don't you?
10-04-2009 @ 4:26PM
Kurt Munro said...
In civilised countries we have people called stewards who check your ticket inside each screening room as well as before you go into the main hall.
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10-04-2009 @ 4:30PM
Corey said...
I agree, however, if this were made legal I could see myself getting really impatient with people popping in and out of movies throughout the film. If I go to a movie at the theater, I already dislike being distracted by people getting up to go to the bathroom excessively (honestly, you couldn't go before the movie started?).
I wouldn't mind being able to just spend my day at the theater watching a handful of the movies I've been wanting to see without having to drop 30 dollars for it.
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10-04-2009 @ 4:35PM
C.A. said...
Wow, I don't even really know how to reply to this. I'm surprised you even think this is plausible.
Plus you wrote "Respectful moviegoers will be considerate when moving in and out of auditoriums; rude ones will not. Making theater hopping legal won't change their behavior at all." That's completely wrong. It would make the moving in and out way more commonplace and it would be disruptive. I know that I don't want any more people moving around or trying to find seats than there already are.
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10-04-2009 @ 5:23PM
CParis said...
This!
One of the main reasons many people don't go to see movies in the theater is because of the rude behavior of some fellow patrons. I would expect the cellphone blabberers, gum-poppers, seat kickers would be the first to abuse this theater-hopping privilege. That would just drive the rest of use back home. Net loss.
10-05-2009 @ 11:54AM
Kevin said...
Agreed. This is a horrendous idea. You really think that allowing this won't increase the number of people wandering into and out of a movie during its playing? Thats precisely the result that you claim you want, and than you say it won't have a disruptive effect. Utterly preposterous. Drastically increasing the number of people wandering around in a movie showing will ruin the theater going experience for everyone who shows up with the goal of watching one movie and one movie only. Frankly, I think you're kind of a jerk for already doing it. Everytime somebody comes in and just stands by the entrance during a movie I am watching I notice it and get distracted by it. You just want a license to distract people. Pretty selfish IMHO.
10-04-2009 @ 4:38PM
johnnyb said...
So basically you're calling for the death of Box Office charting...
Reply
10-04-2009 @ 4:42PM
Midnight13 said...
Sounds like your suggesting that if you pay a ticket to a movie and aren't enjoying the movie then you should be able to say within the first half hour of the movie I want to change the movie and see THAT one instead. When I was younger, about 12 years old, I used to theatre hop regularly. Mostly to go to R rated movies at theatres that were stingy and wouldn't sell me a ticket even if my parents were going to buy it for me. Now theatre hopping is really easy in multiplexes as once your in the lobby you can pretty much hop in and out as you wish. However I'm not intrested in seeing a half hour of one movie and a half hour of another movie and half hour of another. I want to see a complete movie. I'm quite picky about what I see in theatres these days. Getting to see a movie for free is worthless if you're spending 90 minutes watching a terrible movie
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10-04-2009 @ 9:44PM
nabil said...
so what happens if you buy a ticket to one movie, then decide you don't like it and hop into another show that's sold out. in that case, someone who has actually bought a ticket to see the sold out show won't be able to get a seat. is that fair? in the same way, you could easily circumvent sold out shows by buying a ticket to a unpopular movie and walking into the sold out show instead.
this makes absolutely no sense.
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10-04-2009 @ 5:22PM
Peter Martin said...
Some multiplexes already have ushers who check tickets at sold-out shows on Friday and Saturday evenings. The usher can stand guard until, say, 15 minutes after the movie starts. The theaters are cleared of patrons between screenings.
Even if adopted, I would never expect that theater hopping would become much more widespread than it already is. At best, there would be an incremental increase in the practice. Most people are accustomed to seeing one movie at a shot.
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10-06-2009 @ 4:38PM
Kevin said...
So you want the theater to adopt something specifically because it will not be a popular idea? You're telling an industry to drastically alter the way it does business so that you and a few handful of people can keep doing the distracting and obnoxious behavior you already participate it? Its a non-sensical idea. I would say its pretty ridiculous to think that if you told people that they were welcome to wander in and out of movies that most people wouldn't. I guarantee you that if it were allowed to and people showed up 25 minutes early to a show they would wander into another movie fo 10-15 minutes. It would be pretty horrible to be watching a movie only to have people wandering in and out, standing by the entrance, etc. And you couldn't possibly think that the people who know they aren't going to be surrounded by the people watching the movie for 2 hours will hold to the same tiny level of decorum being demonstrated in a regular showing. People already rudely talk and answer phone calls when they're sitting right next to someone for the length of a showing. You think if they're just standing by the entrance or if they know they're getting up and leaving in 5 minutes they're behavior won't degrade even further? Its pretty hilarious that you think this is a good idea, especially because you're posting it on a blog that has spent the last few years writing article after article on the dismal slide in behavior at movie theaters.
10-04-2009 @ 6:18PM
Kristin said...
I don't know about theater hopping but I've often thought that double feature passes (at a discounted rate from 2 individual tickets) would be a great choice. Plus, I know if I'm going to invest at least 4 hours of my day I'm definitely going for that popcorn and soda.
I also think it'd be great to have a theater that just plays trailers - show up early and pay an extra buck then have a seat and watch as many coming attractions as you like.
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10-05-2009 @ 4:34PM
MikePF said...
Comcast HD On Demand has a section of movie trailers in HD
that I love going thru on Saturday mornings trying to decide what I want to see. If you know someone who has Comcast maybe they'll invite you over.
10-04-2009 @ 6:19PM
Mia said...
I do think this is rather implausible, but I do however like the idea of being able to exchange your ticket. If you're 30 minutes into the film and its awful, I think you should be able to go to the ticket booth and get a ticket for a different show (perhaps one starting later that day so you dont miss any part of the film).
Reply
10-04-2009 @ 7:37PM
PM said...
You can't do this already?
I know you can do this at any Cineplex theatre in Canada.
10-04-2009 @ 6:19PM
emersondartagnan said...
I went to the theater for all of Saturday; I saw Toy Story double feature, Zombieland, the informant!, the invention of lying, and Capitalism, and I'm proud to say that I paid for every single one. Sneaking into movies is stealing and if you don't like the movie you're in, you can go to the box office and try to get a refund. Deal with it.
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10-04-2009 @ 7:10PM
Dave said...
It's a lovely pipe dream, sure, but do you really think theaters (and studios, for that matter) would go for something that gave the consumer more product for the same price they're already paying? See three movies for the price of a single ticket? In a business/profit sense, what kind of a theater owner is going to be cool with that? Also, perhaps I'm in the minority here, but I try to spend as little money as possible on overpriced, crappy concession stand food and drink. Being in a theater for three or four hours longer just means I'm going to get more creative with how I sneak my contraband in.
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10-04-2009 @ 10:50PM
Matt Gamble said...
If you don't like the film every US theatre chain offers refunds within the first half hour of a film. You can then use that money and buy a ticket for a different film you want.
So technically, this is already legal.
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10-04-2009 @ 8:05PM
vegimorph said...
no offense but I go to a theater to see an ENTIRE movie. Usually I, and many other people have good judgement in what movies we want to see and we've only made a mistake once or twice. No offense again but your idea is bad because it proves that even if you realize too late that you're watching a bad movie, you're too much of a coward to watch the rest of it and the same goes for the morons who just go to movies because there are explosions, sex, nudity, so and so's in it and its based off your favorite video game. Plus the people who have come to see the one movie wouldn't get to enjoy it because people would keep coming in and out all the time.
Plus if you come to a movie early, get some refreshments, go to the bathroom, relax, give someone a call or make conversation with someone nearby, or watch the advertisements and stuff on the screen or even bring a book or something. shut everything off when the lights dim of course but skipping to other theaters to see movies you haven't paid to see, even if its just for a couple of minutes is wrong for everybody involved and everyone who thinks like that disgusts me. Rent a movie instead if you're gonna do that.
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