UPDATE: A spokesman for AMC Theatres responded to Consumerist’s request for comment, saying the company takes movie theft “very seriously,” which is why the feds got involved. [More]
movie theaters
Report: Two Shot During Altercation Over Texting During Previews At Tampa Movie Theater
By 1.13.14
Sad news out of Tampa Bay, Fla. this afternoon: Local news outlets there are reporting that two people were shot inside a movie theater today during a screening of Lone Survivor. It appears there was some kind of dispute between two couples, with at least one report saying that a man was upset at the noise made by the victims while texting during the previews. [More]
Why Is Popcorn Such A Popular Snack At The Movies?
By 10.3.13
It’s buttered, it’s salted, it’s plain but it’s always hot and delicious (or it should be) — but why do we all hanker for popcorn at the movies, and pop it when we watch at home? Popcorn itself has been around for nigh on 8,000 years since corn was first cultivated, but it’s been a movie theater staple for far less time. [More]
Blogger Admits He Maybe Overreacted By Calling 9-1-1 To Report Cell Phone Use In Theater
By 9.10.13
Your head is on fire. A spaceship spewing bug-eyed aliens just landed in the backyard, and they look mean. Someone in the movie theater is using a cell phone, but the staff doesn’t seem to care. The neighbors have turned into ravenous zombies intent on noshing on your brains. Three of the aforementioned scenarios are all emergency situations and thus warrant calling 9-1-1 for help, while one is not. Let’s take a guess which is an inappropriate reason to get emergency responders involved. [More]
Dear Movie Theater Owners: Please Don’t Do This
May 10, 2013
Before last summer’s horrific fatal shootings at The Dark Knight Rises screening in Colorado, hiring costumed “gunmen” to walk into a crowded movie theater as a marketing stunt would have merely been a bad idea that might have made the local news. Post-Aurora, it’s the kind of idiotically ill-advised idea that results in multiple 9-1-1 calls and the theater having to apologize to outraged customers. [Reddit via Gawker] [More]
Suspected Peeping Toms Crash Through Ceiling Of Women’s Bathroom At Movie Theater
By 5.2.13
Here’s the thing: If you don’t want people to suspect you of being a peeping Tom, don’t crawl around in the ceiling above a women’s bathroom. But if you do happen to fall through such a ceiling, like two men did in Georgia? Cops will probably accuse you of spying on ladies. Which is what happened just recently. [More]
Game Of Thrones’ George R.R. Martin Buys Local Movie Theater Rather Than See It Go To Waste
By 4.22.13
It’s not exactly breaking the siege of Storm’s End or winning the Battle of the Trident, but A Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin is undertaking a small-scale heroic effort of his own, buying a beloved local theater that has been dark for years. [More]
Couple Facing Felony Theft Charges After Admitting Skipping Out On Movie Tickets Before
By 2.27.13
The first rule of getting caught doing something bad is, or should be, “shut up.” Not that we condone stealing snacks from your employer or sneaking into movies, of course. As such, a husband and wife team were nabbed without tickets to a movie and are now facing felony theft charges after saying this wasn’t their first time at the ticket-skipping rodeo. [More]
Ed Asner & Manager Of Struggling Movie Theater Equally Surprised To Hear He’d Pledged To Help
By 2.6.13
In a scenario prime for the movies its theater shows, a struggling movie theater in Pittsburgh needs to raise $75,000 to afford the switchover to digital projectors, and as such, is facing extinction at the end of the year. But then in a move that surprised the theater’s manager, legendary actor Ed Asner, he of the lovable grumpy roles, stepped in to save the day with a Facebook campaign dedicated to fundraising efforts! Except he didn’t, not really. [More]
Victims’ Families Call Invite To Aurora Theater Re-Opening A “Ridiculously Offensive” Publicity Stunt
By 1.3.13
Almost six months after alleged gunman James Holmes opened fire on a movie theater in Aurora, Colo., killing 12 people, the victims’ families are calling an invitation to the re-opening of that same theater — dubbed a special evening of remembrance” by the Century Aurora 16 theater — a “ridiculously offensive” publicity stunt. Nine of the families have issued a letter expressing their pain over the invitation, as well as asking others to join them in a boycott. [More]
Alamo Drafthouse Giving Everyone Chance To Make Their Own “Shut Up, Stop Texting & Watch The Movie” PSA
By 10.25.12
The Alamo Drafthouse chain of movie theaters has long had a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to texting and talking on the phone during a film, as commemorated in maybe the greatest anti-texting PSA ever. Now the company is asking you to unleash that annoyed auteur that’s dying to get out and tell people to shut the &*#( up. [More]
Movie Theater Shows Kids How Different ‘Paranormal Activity 4’ Is From ‘Madagascar 3’
By 10.24.12
A theater full of kids got quite a shock over in Britain recently, when a mistake at a movie theater had the opening scenes of Paranormal Activity 4 beaming into young eyeballs instead of family-friendly animated film Madagascar 3. Let’s just say the opening scene did not feature a band of ragtag animals with funny voices. [More]
Man Pulled Down $70K A Week By Crawling On Movie Theater Floors To Steal Credit Cards
By 10.23.12
Anyone carrying a bag into the movies knows there’s basically only one thing you can do with it: you place that purse/man bag/tote/shopping bag/whathaveyou on the ground and no one drops their soda on the ground nearby. A Connecticut man saw all those bags as a way to make some easy money, crawling around on movie theater floors to steal up to $70,000 a week. [More]
Without Discount Passes, AMC’s Rewards Program Is A Lot Less Rewarding
By 10.16.12
Amy thought that the AMC Stubs rewards program was pretty great, back when the discount passes that she bought at Costco counted toward earning rewards. The Stubs program isn’t free (it costs $12 a year) and she was exchanging money for movie tickets and perhaps buying some snacks, after all. Then AMC suddenly stopped counting Gold and Silver passes toward the program. [More]
Man Politely Apologizes, Promptly Leaves 'Bourne Legacy' After Accidentally Shooting Himself In The Butt
By 8.15.12
Moviegoers at a screening of The Bourne Legacy near Reno, Nev. had a bit of a scare on Tuesday night, when a man adjusted himself in his seat and ended up discharging his gun right into his own backside. According to witnesses, he apologized to the rest of the theater and promptly left the movie. No one else was hurt. [More]
I Didn't Buy A Ticket To An R-Rated Movie So I Could Entertain Your Toddler
By 8.13.12
Baby-sitters must be hard to come by these days. That’s the only possible explanation for why Kelly found herself entertaining the small child next to her during a showing of the R-rated movie “Ted.” The encounter raised all kinds of questions. For example: why was this child sitting in a stroller that was positioned to block Kelly’s seat? Why didn’t Regal Cinemas staff do anything about the stroller? Why didn’t the child’s mother notice or care that the kid was yapping to Kelly? Then, of course, there’s the key question on which this entire problem hinges: why bring a toddler with you to an R-rated movie? [More]
Theater: If A Man Brings Bag Into Movie, He's A "Possible Shooter"
By 8.8.12
UPDATE: The owner of the theater has issued a statement to Consumerist regarding the situation: [More]
Some Theaters Beef Up Security Following Fatal Colorado Shooting
By 7.20.12
By now you’ve likely heard about last night’s horrible shooting at a Colorado movie theater that left at least a dozen people dead and several times that number injured. In response, some theaters have already begun beefing up security for opening-day showings of The Dark Knight Rises. [More]
