To wish people could sit through a film without stuffing their faces

[user1485342611]

No problem with people having a bar of chocolate, or quietly eating some popcorn. But people who spend half the film guzzling and slurping and chewing and munching and rustling through paper bags and stinking the place out with greasy hot dogs and stinking nachos drive me mad.

AIBU and trying to deprive people of the full 'cinema experience'?

And then they get up and leave all of their rubbish there, that disgusts me more than the constant troughing....

The last time I went I got trapped in a row with a birthday party group of little girls. A couple of parents came along the row shaking various family bags of sweets into carrier bags for the kids to snack on. Having handed out the noisy stuff they buggered off a couple of rows away. The place was packed, there was no where to move to. There began the worst 89 minutes I've had in years. The rustling! The chewing! The arguing! The getting up and down to the toilet! The whispered shouts of mum, mum, mum! Which were, of course, ignored.

Thank god my kids are now teenagers and I will never have to suffer through another Disney film surrounded by the seat kickers and nose pickers. And adults are hardly any better...

Bloke behind me at the weekend sat and ate his way through a six pack of crisps. Evidenced by the rubbish left when he walked out. Apart from the noise every time he opened a packet, there are signs saying it's not allowed to take your own food in.

There are mice in our local cinema. They aren't ever going to go hungry, that's for sure, with all the stuff dropped on the floor.

Now for me, spotting a sweet little mouse nipping about in the semi darkness with a bit of popcorn in his mouth is a highlight of going to the cinema.

But not everyone feels the same way.

I was sitting beside a guy last week who chomped his way through half a bucket of popcorn during the trailers, then spent the first ten minutes of the film scrolling through his phone, then decided to share his girlfriends uber smelly nachos, then took his bucket of popcorn up off the floor and munched through the second half, all interspersed with nice slurps of coke.

I was ready to throttle him by halfway through the film.

user I think more people used to go to the pictures. They were often full up, and it was a popular night out, especially for teenagers.
I also wonder if films are more expensive to make now, and that filters down to the cinema.

That could be it noeffing. I suppose with Netflix, DVDs etc the cinemas have to come up with other ways of making money. I wish it didn't have to include nachos, though

Food - much all you want, it bothers me not but rustling bags constantly to get to said food is annoying. Our cinema sells buckets of popcorn so not noisy as such but then goes and sells more expensive bags of popcorn that are impossible to eat silently (I had to keep waiting for the loud bits before I could shovel it in).

I can't understand why people bother to go cinema to look a phones throughout but then you can't shop in Tesco's anymore without encountering half the staff on their mobile phones whilst stacking shelves etc, so I am prepared to accept this may be an age thing.

However, I would rather be sat next to a smelly unwashed person than someone who has on perfume that triggers a migraine and means that I can't watch the whole film without having to take all my migraine medication (meaning I then have to rummage through handbag to get it all out).

I accept though that these people paid their ticket price the same as me and therefore should be able to enjoy their experience as they choose.

YABU the popcorn is half the reason for going

LemonShark
We’re from the same hood! DP took DS(3) to watch Early Man at Peckham, it was a 11.30am showing so not too busy. Still lots of eating but he said it was bearable. Especially at those prices!

But if their 'enjoyment' e.g. rustling through bags, checking their phones, talking loudly, is impacting on other people why is that okay?

I went to see Manchester-by-Sea at Peckhamplex, where the tickets are £4.99. The audience cheerfully munched, rustled, chomped, slurped throughout the entire film. Same film at East Dulwich Picturehouse, ticket price £13.99, not a peep from the audience, apart from the occasional restrained sob.

You were able to sit through that film twice?! I struggled to watch it once.

(misses the point)

I agree. It is vile when people stuff their faces with smelly food. It totally destroys what tries to be an immersive experience.
I cant help wondering about the stomach of someone who forces down a bucket of popcorn followed by a bucket of coke. I am sure that helps cause the repulsive farty smell that a previous poster refers to.
YUK (silent shudder)

Disgusting.

I only go to the cinema for the nachos

My burger and fries get delivered to my seat. It's the Everyman way.

JennyOnAPlate
I used to for the pick n mix

Cinema is a public place, you can't expect complete silence. Part of being around others is putting up with inconvenience, unfortunately. Yes we should all try and keep the noise down and be considerate to others but you're never going to have everyone doing the same. And cinemas will never ban food as that's how they make money from all the rip off sweets and snacks.

Doesn't bother me. The cinema I find so loud, I wouldn't even notice what anyone was eating.

It's fine if it's a loud action film. Gets annoying when you go and see something where you need to concentrate. I was sat in front of a loud chewer during Arrival and there was someone across the aisle slurping. It ruined the intense moments of the film.

My worse cinema experience was when some guy sat next to me stinking, and I mean STINKING of Joop. As soon as it got into my nostrils, it was burning. I got up and moved seats, but even halfway across the cinema I could still smell that distinctive stench. I could taste it.

I don't think anyone's asked for 'complete silence' in the cinema, just a bit of consideration including eating quietly, not rustling and rummaging through plastic bags during the film and not eating food that stinks the place out.

It's not so much the rustling that bothers me because the film is usually loud enough to drown most of that out. But smelly food is not nice is it, especially when the cinema is packed out.

I blame the cinema mostly for selling it but if the demand is there for people to be gross and selfish and eat hot smelly food with no regards to anyone else then they are going to sell it aren't they 😐

OP "But if their 'enjoyment' e.g. rustling through bags, checking their phones, talking loudly, is impacting on other people why is that okay?"

no idea, but clearly I'm in a minority so I just don't go.

last time I went was for the Big Short and the woman next to us actually started looking at quite a large ipad and just looking at stuff generally. I hissed "put that thing away NOW" and she did.

then when we left, her (guessing) partner said to her "how could you do, that I was mortified" and she shouted "Well I was bored!"

FFS.

I try to go to the screenings at the least popular times to avoid all these horrors as far as possible. I'd rather dig my eyeballs out with a spoon than go to the cinema on a Saturday night.

But if their 'enjoyment' e.g. rustling through bags, checking their phones, talking loudly, is impacting on other people why is that okay?

Rustling is unavoidable and just as annoying but unavoidable as is someone shifting in seat constantly or having a cough or breathing heavily.

Checking phones - I don't do this and it bothers me when people do but it is a distraction, perfume actually makes me ill so is far worse for me.

I did not say talking loudly was ok, that is rude and avoidable.