where do you sit at the movies POLL: The Poll

front-middle middle

(it also depends how big the screen is; ideally the screen fills my field of vision, but i'm not craning my neck)

"In the middle, to the side" if "to the side" means "aisle."

Depends on how crowded it is. If it's a sparsely attended show where I can sit in the middle-middle without crawling over 12 people, I do that. Otherwise, I look for an aisle (and if my kids are with me, always the aisle). Allows easy egress for bathroom breaks if needed, plus also I just don't like being surrounded.

front-middle aisle.

Middle-middle when I can, middle-aisle when I can't.

middle aisle

Prefer the back but it depends on the cinema. Sometimes the front can be the only place because of the height (screenings at art galleries).

front

back?

side to side

outside of not sitting in the first few rows cos I dislike sore neck, I generally base it on the following:

1) scan audience for loud, annoying people - sit at minimum of three rows away
2) scan audience for children - must sit at minimum of five rows away
3) scan audience for people with "KEEP CALM" t-shirts; find another theatre

Middle, left aisle--most suited to my eyes.

(And yes, xpost--be aware of who's in the immediate proximity, do some preemptive glaring if necessary.)

And if someone throws popcorn in your face for complaining about their phone use, don't shoot them!

I do my best to keep other people out of my field of vision, so that's usually pretty close. If there are seats with a railing in front of them (opposed to other seats) I take that, since I like to put my feet up.

haha yeah me too. I have long legs and bad posture, so that's always a go-to.

I also try to find one close to the exit cuz I often have soda to prevent falling asleep (dunno why but I have this problem in theatres) and thus always have to pee during the flick

No room for "it depends" in polls but I tried to include as many options as I could. To the side here = I have a preference for aisle seats, and if there isn't an aisle down the middle I will sit off to the side. I don't think anyone is particularly attached to viewing films at an oblique angle.

Me: back, middle. Always.

the one 'true' IMAX in O-town has no middle aisle, which is aggravating on days when its full. it's basically one big, gigantic aisle, so if you got there early to get prime seats so you could sit dead center and then you get the runs suddenly, you have to climb over people in either direction and then down a huge staircase to get back out. though the rows aren't as jammed together so there's a little more leg room than in the classic theater. and to be honest it's still the most badass in town.

sub 'row' for the second instance of 'aisle'

and also that should have said "climb over 25 people". guh

middle-middle if it's some cavernous imax theater, back-middle otherwise. the theater i go to now in athens has assigned seating, you pick out yr seats when you buy yr ticket online beforehand, which is great cuz now if it's some movie that's gonna be packed on opening weekend you don't have to get there early to get decent seats and you don't have to have someone save seats.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xx4N8vGbs8I

front middle. 3-4 rows from the front usually -- the very front row is hard on the neck.

otm. One time went to meet a friend to see Quiz Show, but for some reason forgot to get on line so we ended up having to sit in the very first row which had the dual unpleasant effects of exposing us to a visible icy draft coming from the emergency door and grotesquely distending the image so that the actors look like pear-shaped monsters who had been costumed to a man in homage to David Byrne's "big suit" look.

reserved seating is great but then my worry always becomes 'aw great is some P.O.S. gonna be sittin' in my seat now'?

yeah that was my concern initially, that i was gonna have to be the petty asshole that cares that much about where they sit but so far that hasn't been an issue

we only have two theatres here which use reserved seating, one of which is an AMC 'Fork 'n Screen' where that wouldn't be as much of an issue, and the other a dinner movie theatre, which I haven't been to since they went to assigned seating. Mostly basing my paranoia on my experience at Orlando Magic games, where the average beginning to an evening consisted of:

"Hey bro, I believe that's my seat..."
'whuh? Nah man, see, says seat 3 right here'
"What row?"
'T'
"This is Row B"
'ahh for real, I was for sure this was where the usher pointed me?'

the other reason I like reserved seating = having to avoid the constant asking of "ARE THESE SAVED? ARE THESE SAVED?", as someone ropes off 8 seats for friends that haven't shown up yet and are likely going to be 20 mins late.

yeah at a movie theater if it wasn't crowded i'd probably just think 'o well we'll sit somewhere else' whereas at a sporting event i'd definitely be 'MOVE MOTHERFUCKER'

front two or three rows to the side (i hate myself and want to etc), pref in a row w/out other ppl - when companions i go to movies with insist on seats further way, i always find the effect too distancing - i want that enveloping experience

I saw a reissue of Blue Velvet around 2002 where I was the only person in the cinema for most of the film, seeing films with other people always felt like a bit of a letdown after that

I usually go to movies in the morning (10 a.m. yesterday) so I don't often worry about crowds.

heh, for a spell last year I kept going to late movies at the theatre 3 miles from my house cos it's situated in a low-traffic mall and often I almost had the theatre to myself cos nobody likes going there late nights. it felt like a private theatre w/ comfy seats.

I try and sit somewhere that close to the exit so I can run out at the end of the film because I hate making eye contact with other people as we leave the cinema, also hate the idea of them forming opinions about me based on my appearance + what movie we've been watching

I don't literally run, but I try to leave quickly

welcome to my sexual habits

I prefer empty theatres because when I finish with the popcorn tub, it's tossed up and back

the cinema I most often go to has reserved seating for all evening & weekend screenings, it's great. I book early & get the seats I want (then I arrive early anyway).

find cinemagoing a constant battle between wanting a communal experience vs an unusually heightened awareness of how awful people can be

the latter usually wins that battle quite handily I find, but I may just be a misanthrope

I totally am when I'm at the pictures

I could just stay at home and watch TV, so I guess I do want a communal experience to some extent? a communal experience where you sit with other people in the dark not looking at or talking to them is about as far as I'm willing to go

2nd or 3rd row middle if I'm by myself or with someone else with any sense, otherwise WEVS

truthfully I almost never go to movies for the communal experience unless it's a raucous comedy, usually I'm going cuz it's abig screen and loud sound and I can eat really crappy for me food in large quantities.

pretty much completely uncoupled the pastimes of eating and cinemagoing in my mind years ago, it's quite freeing to realise that you can eat popcorn anytime you want + it's possible to sit for 90 minutes without eating something. As a regular moviegoer I save a LOT of money not buying shit overpriced snacks. The downside is you start to reeeeaallly hate the people who feel they need to eat stuff

I am conditioned to eat whenever watching anything, television, etc. it's ingrained. and i'm always hungry.

I was the same! I unconditioned myself at some point, I guess, although I don't remember consciously trying to do so.

It's the type of food, too: my local arts cinema sells wasabi peas as a snack ffs! WELL DONE YOU HAVE MANAGED TO FIND THE ONE FOOD NOISIER THAN POPCORN

in theory i'm a "in the middle, in the middle" person, but the local theater i go to most often has seats that are all on the same level (rather than one seat being higher than the one in front of it), which means your view is blocked if there's anyone sitting in front of you -- not just directly in front of you, but for two or three rows in front of you. this theater usually isn't full so it's not generally a problem, but have had a couple special screenings half-spoiled by this kinda inexplicable design flaw.

Just witnessed an awkward you're-sitting-in-my-seat encounter in an almost empty theatre; the dude stammered at the offending couple for about a minute before realising he could just take a seat in the row behind (he was middle-middle btw)

Also I had an espresso between films & am wishing I hadn't

Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

where she at