Saving seats at the movies.

[Golden croc]

There are lots of movie fans here so Id like to know different opinions.
I go to the movies a bit more than average. Maybe 15-20 times a year, so once a month, twice or more during the summer. Sometimes with the wife, with groups sometimes.
Yesterday went w the wife to see WWZ. Got there 25 mins early right went the let ppl in. I go in, see ppl looking up, crap. The good seats are taken. I look up, most of them taken, but still some free seats. I look around more and bingo, 6 empty seats in a row. I walk a bit and a young guy and two or three girls quickly tell me they are taken. I couldnt hold the anger and say "6? Damn man". "Yeah 6" he replies with an attitude.
I turned to my wife and tell her that we are seating there.
My wife, like many ppl, has a strong character only at home but cant kill a fly outside of the house and freaks out and tells me to avoid trouble. Whatever, I go downstairs and get a shitty seat w a shitty view. I couldnt avoid thinking about it. 6 seats? Really? Dont get me wrong, I have saved seats but no more than 2. Ok, maybe some people save 3. But 6?
Had I taken them there was nothing they couldve done. Theres no rules about it, Just common etiquette. You dont take saved seats but I dont think theres no limit to appropiate seat saving.
I told my wife next time we are seating when somebody is saving so many seats specially that long before the movie.
Thoughts?

 

[Matt M]

I've never known of that happening in a cinema before but it would definitely annoy me.
Although I prefer to go when it's not packed. When a cinema is packed there are just too many opportunities to be annoyed and have the film ruined - people eating too loudly, people talking, people with an annoying laugh etc.

 

[johnkilo]

6 seats is extreme, but I rarely go to the movies when other people are around because I find it a waste of money and highly annoying.

 

[faustian]

25 mins early and there were only 6 "good" seats left in the entire theater?

 

[m0353]

They're in the right.
They were there first and they reserved the seats first. They have every right to do so.
6 is typically not a huge number in a theatre. If somebody else is sitting there, I don't see the issue.

Don't forget you arrived to see a big box office film that was just recently released and you arrived less than a half hour beforehand.

If they reserved 6 seats and nobody took them, then it would be different.

 

[Uptown Swinger]

Learn to keep your wife in check bruh.

 

[thatone**]

If you want to save 6 seast there better be paid ticket stubs in each seat! I would have sat my ass down!

 

[Uptown Swinger]

I snuck in to see that movie after Monsters U.

I had no Idea what it was about

I was pleasantly suprised.

But I'm no movie snob.

 

[faustian]

If you want to save 6 seast there better be paid ticket stubs in each seat! I would have sat my ass down!

 

[osudude]

I just hate the fact that there's bad seats to begin with.

There's a theater near me that has these really small, boutique theaters and there's literally not a bad seat in the whole thing. I wish more places were like that.

 

[Uptown Swinger]

I just hate the fact that there's bad seats to begin with.

There's a theater near me that has these really small, boutique theaters and there's literally not a bad seat in the whole thing. I wish more places were like that.

After 85% of the tickets are sold the ticket price should be cut in half.

edit:

but then you have assholes who sneak in right after their movie finished and take all the good seats.

 

[Golden croc]

They're in the right.
They were there first and they reserved the seats first. They have every right to do so.
6 is typically not a huge number in a theatre. If somebody else is sitting there, I don't see the issue.

Don't forget you arrived to see a big box office film that was just recently released and you arrived less than a half hour beforehand.

If they reserved 6 seats and nobody took them, then it would be different.

They just go there before their friends. I have done the same thing but just with 1 or 2. What if we are a group of 20. Can I save 19 seats for ppl that havent gotten there and keep other ppl from seating there? Thats my question. There has to be a limit to this unwritten rule of saving seats.
Also if Im saving a bunch of seats and somebody ignores me, I cant do anything about it.

 

[SafyreSchool**]

Saving seats is like cutting in line.

If I owned a theatre, I would ban it.
Get there on goddamn time or see the next show.

 

[johnkilo]

I just hate the fact that there's bad seats to begin with.

There's a theater near me that has these really small, boutique theaters and there's literally not a bad seat in the whole thing. I wish more places were like that.

Yeah me too. My stubborn brother and I went and saw the new Star Trek movie a week after it came out. He insisted we leave only 15 minutes before the movie started. Needless to say when we got there it was packed, infact we got the last tickets. The only seats that where available were right under the screen. What's the fucking point of having seats that close? I would have rather missed the movie.

 

[Phreaxer]

I would have sat behind him and had an "accident" with the drink and spill it on him.

Even more subtle, wait till his girl puts her purse on the floor and spill your drink on the floor near the edge of the step down to their seat... Probably wouldn't notice till they went to leave if even then... That's what I would do...


in a video game

 

[johnkilo]

They just go there before their friends. I have done the same thing but just with 1 or 2. What if we are a group of 20. Can I save 19 seats for ppl that havent gotten there and keep other ppl from seating there? Thats my question. There has to be a limit to this unwritten rule of saving seats.
Also if Im saving a bunch of seats and somebody ignores me, I cant do anything about it.

I think if people are out getting popcorn but they're in the building, saving as many seats as you want is fine. If they're not there and cant bother getting their ass to the movie early, then screw them.

 

[themainman]

yea ive experienced this too. A few years ago 1 guy, just one was saving like 6-8 seats in the middle of a pretty full theatre and said we cant sit there. I was just there with one other person so we found good seats for 2 so no biggie.

But knowing my personality if we didnt find other seats or if i was with a girl that wanted to sit there, I wouldve said Fuck it and just sat down in those seats. If his friends come back mad and things escalate, then they escalate.

 

[lakersfan45]

i think you're in the wrong. they can reserve up to 8 seats and still be legit.

 

[m0353]

They just go there before their friends. I have done the same thing but just with 1 or 2. What if we are a group of 20. Can I save 19 seats for ppl that havent gotten there and keep other ppl from seating there? Thats my question. There has to be a limit to this unwritten rule of saving seats.
Also if Im saving a bunch of seats and somebody ignores me, I cant do anything about it.

19 =/= 6. If other people are buying tickets and those 19 don't, then I think the theatre staff and the overwhelming majority will side with those who bought the tickets.

6 seats is a lot less in a theatre of 30-100 people, compared to 19.

Besides, do you really know that those people hadn't bought tickets? May be they were getting concessions, may be they bought tickets beforehand, may be their friends bought tickets for them.

If somebody ignores you, you can do something. You even said in your OP that if your wife didn't tell you, you would've done something, so why wouldn't you when someone takes the seat your saving?

My suggestion, when you're seeing a film (that has already grossed nearly $70 million in 3 days) in it's opening week you should expect it to be busy; especially when it's a film targeted at a more older audience than Monster University.

Go earlier than 25 min before it starts and you won't have that issue, or go on a less busy day/time

 

[Bearstronaut]

I usually go to this cinema where you get to buy a ticket for a specific seat. It avoids many problems.