Wicked habits at the cinema

‘People have paid to hear Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Granda singing not tone-deaf Karen in seating row 14’ …

Wicked fans have been banned from singing along to the film’s soundtrack at cinema’s, sparking a debate about what’s acceptable behaviour at a public screening. With this in mind, new research has revealed the things people do in cinemas that irritate us the most. The experts at Spin Genie, surveyed people and asked them to name the worst cinema habits.

The Worst Cinema Habits:

Cinema etiquette is something we all try and follow to make watching a film more enjoyable for everyone in the theatre. However, sometimes people don’t follow these rules. Whether that’s talking or singing during a movie, someone’s phone going off or even PDA can easily ruin this experience for us.

But which of these bad habits annoys us the most?

1. Talking During The Film: Topping the ranking as the most annoying cinema habit is talking during the film and it’s easy to understand why. There’s nothing that breaks your concentration quite like overhearing people talking while something epic is about to happen, or your partner asking why a certain character died.

2. Kicking Chairs: Following up in second place is a classic cinema bad habit, someone kicking the back of your chair. There’s nothing that ruins the ambience of watching a film at the cinema more than people booting the back of your chair, either purposely or not.

Ariana Granda is Glinda and Cynthia Erivo is Elphaba in WICKED, directed by Jon M. Chu

3. People Using Their Phone: Rounding of the top three is people using their phone. Potentially a newer bad habit, this issue was never a problem pre-2010 but now we’re a generation of smart-phone and social media users, people can’t keep off their phones, meaning it’s now common practice to see luminous lights flashing up around the room every so often.

4. Loud Eating: Respondents placed loud eating in fourth place and it doesn’t need much explanation. No one wants to hear the sound of someone crunching popcorn, crisps or the suction of a drink in their ear as they try to concentrate on the action in front of them.

5. People Who Take Their Shoes Off: Closing the top five is people who take their shoes off.

Other responses included littering which placed sixth, public displays of affection which came seventh and lastly, singing during a film placed eighth.

Dom Aldworth, entertainment expert at Spin Genie:

“Going to the cinema together is a shared experience, and following basic etiquette ensures we can all enjoy the magic of the big screen as a means to unwind and escape. The results show that even the smallest actions such as staying silent, keeping your feet to yourself or switching off your phone can make a huge difference. Nobody wants to see their favourite film accompanied by their chair being kicked.

“All in all, it’s about respecting other people’s personal space because the only drama we want is on screen and not in the seats!”

Wicked is in cinemas now across the UK.