For some, a trip to the cinema is a chance to escape the real world and be enveloped by another universe. According to one of the biggest cinema chains in the world, AMC, being forced to turn off phones to leave the real world is a problem. It may fix this by allowing phone use during films.
In an interview with Variety, the head of AMC, Adam Aron, said his company is considering introducing phone use in cinemas.
He points out that in order to appeal to the younger audience, and pull people back into cinemas as sales dwindle, phone use may be needed.
Aron says: "When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don’t ruin the movie, they hear please cut off your left arm above the elbow. You can’t tell a 22-year-old to turn off their phone. That’s not how they live their life."
The fact that some other cinema visitors won't like people using their phones is something that has been taken into consideration. Aron goes on: "What may be more likely is we take specific auditoriums and make them more texting friendly."
So the situation could evolve to be like trains where there are certain carriages in which phone use is not permitted. Except in this case it would be certain screening rooms that allow phone use.
This might actually be a great idea. This would separate those who casually take in a film, while still connected to the real world, and those that want to get lost. That should mean the no-phone cinema screens are actually as quiet as they're intended to be.
Imagine going to a cinema where everyone else in there was as respectful of silence as you? All waiting until the action scenes to crunch their popcorn, unheard. Or if you're a fan of staying connected while in the cinema you'd be able to do that without feeling bad. We'd pay to go to that cinema.