A collection bucket and cup for “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” film was sold at Regal Cinemas on Oct. 13, 2023, in Lynchburg, Virginia. Image: Paige Dingler/The News & Advance via AP, File
WASHINGTON — As movie theaters worked to entice Americans back into seats after COVID-19 lockdowns and labor strikes, the industry marketed blockbuster films like “Wicked” and the dueling releases of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” as no less than cultural events.
But when certain movies become “events” unto themselves, sometimes different behavior accompanies them.
Article continues after this advertisementDuring the theatrical run of “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” last fall, fans danced and belted lyrics in the theaters, sharing their glee on social media. Last year, fans at early screenings of “Wicked” did the same, to the chagrin of other moviegoers. One video of a woman dressed as Glinda the Good Witch racked up over a million views on TikTok and beyond for announcing to her theater, “I’m here to hear Cynthia and Ariana sing, not you.”
FEATURED STORIES ENTERTAINMENT Tito Sotto denies receiving 'Pepsi Paloma' movie script ENTERTAINMENT ‘Squid Game 2’ star Park Sung-hoon exits drama project following controversy ENTERTAINMENT IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Vic Sotto, Darryl Yap's legal tussle over ‘Pepsi Paloma’ movieAfter a period of growing accustomed to watching movies only from the comforts of home, Americans have been slowly returning to theaters following COVID-19 lockdowns. Along the way, as attendance spikes, the question of how to behave as part of a moviegoing audience has become a topic of passionate online debate.
When asked whether it’s appropriate for fans to sing in the theater, “Wicked” star Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West, told NBC that she thinks the practice is “ wonderful ” and that “it’s time for everyone else to join in.” Dwayne Johnson, who stars as Maui in “Moana 2,” told the BBC that theatergoers who have spent their “hard-earned money for a ticket” should be able to sing.
Article continues after this advertisementOnline backlash was swift, with one user retorting, “I paid my hard-earned money for a ticket too and I don’t wanna hear y’all attempting to sing so what now.”
Article continues after this advertisementAriana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo, cast members in the upcoming film “Wicked,” discuss the film onstage during the Universal Pictures and Focus Features presentation at CinemaCon 2024, Wednesday, April 10, 2024, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
It all circles around two questions that, like anything else in the culture, are constantly evolving: When you’re seeing a movie in a theater, how should you behave? And when can a viewer become a participant?
Article continues after this advertisement Movie sing-alongs are a theater traditionActual in-person disruptions at movie theaters appear minimal. Representatives from Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, a prominent chain known for diverse film screenings and food service, and ACX Cinemas, a family-owned chain based in the Midwest, both say they’ve experienced nothing major. Same story at AMC, which has had “virtually no complaints about disruptive singing” in relation to “Wicked,” spokesman Ryan Noonan said.
The instinct to join in is hardly new. “Sing-along screenings have been a principal part of moviegoing going back over 100 years,” says Ross Melnick, a professor of film and media studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But singing, he says, typically occurs in “designated sing-along environments where it is clear that there’s a collective performance of the audience.”
Article continues after this advertisementAccording to Esther Morgan-Ellis, author of “Everybody Sing!: Community Singing in the American Picture Palace,” American film screenings in the late 1920s and early 1930s were often preceded by sing-alongs. An organist would perform three or four popular songs and audiences were encouraged to join in, often guided by lyrics projected onto the screen. In other cases, the sing-along would be coupled with a short film that included lyrics and a bouncing, on-screen ball that would hop across the words to help audiences keep tempo.
“Affordability has many dimensions to it. If we say that this fuel source is expensive today, that could not be true tomorrow,” Carlos Lorenzo Vega, vice president of First Gen Corp., told reporters on the sidelines of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines (EJAP)-AboitizPower Renewable Energy Forum last Friday.
While singing has long been common, other behaviors were once hotly debated. When movies were a new medium, Americans quarreled over not just the content of the films themselves but the venue at which people viewed them. Was the dark room a hotbed for vice and immoral behavior? Should films be screened with the lights turned up? Should talking be allowed or forbidden? And, of course, there was segregation; movie theaters were not fully integrated until the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
“We have never been a monolithic society. Not ever, and increasingly so now,” Melnick says. “You can tell so much about America by looking at what’s going on in its movie theaters.”
In 1944, MGM, the film studio that had produced “The Wizard of Oz” just five years prior, released a short film titled “Movie Pests” that warned moviegoers against engaging in disruptive behavior. Some of the film’s concerns — sticking gum under chairs, removing shoes — are still considered no-gos today. But the short also showcased etiquette of another era, such as removing jackets in the lobby and using the hat rack under your chair.
Today, acts of participation can be more ad hoc. One Ariana Grande fan account started an online firestorm after posting on X that users should share photos they’d taken of their favorite scenes from “Wicked.” While some commented and posted their own photos, others responded with snarky remarks. One clap-back came from the Alamo Drafthouse account, which retorted, “Or, don’t do that.” The theater chain has a no-talking or texting policy, and violators are ejected after one warning.
Chaya Rosenthal, Alamo Drafthouse’s chief marketing officer, said the policy “is all about respect — respecting the films, the filmmakers and fellow moviegoers who paid for a ticket who deserve an immersive experience.”
Taylor Swift performs on stage during “The Eras Tour” at the Hard Rock stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, Oct. 18, 2024. Swift’s record-shattering Eras tour is set to end on Dec. 8, 2024, in Vancouver with the final performance of cultural phenomemon that has easily become the highest-grossing musical tour in history. Eras kicked off in the US state of Arizona on March 17, 2023. Image: Chandan Khanna/AFP
Theaters experiment with giving viewers what they wantTo allow visitors to choose their preferred viewing experience, theaters have offered special sing-along showings of “Wicked.” The Main Cinema in Minneapolis declared screenings on Mondays (and “Mondays only”) as singing-friendly. Universal Pictures, which produced “Wicked,” began holding special sing-along screenings of the film starting on Christmas Day.
When fans of Taylor Swift caused a ruckus in 2023 by dancing and singing along during screenings of “ Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour,” Michael Barstow, the executive vice president of ACX Cinemas, saw the hoopla not as a nuisance but part of the draw.
“The reason why they paid money and went and saw that inside the movie theater was to have a dance party with other people,” Barstow says. “That’s something we should lean into and embrace and try not to be too much of the fun police in those auditoriums.”
To draw people back to the theater, movie distributors and theater owners have expanded the types of experiences they offer. ACX Cinemas hired actors to dress as characters from “Wicked” and “Moana” to take photos with visitors and hosted a themed brunch at its affiliate restaurant. Theaters have begun offering slates of themed popcorn buckets to accompany tentpole films — sandworm-shaped buckets for “Dune 2” and gothic coffins for “Nosferatu.”
FILE – Ariana Grande, left, and Cynthia Erivo pose for the photographers prior to the premiere of “Wicked” at Auditorio Nacional in Mexico City, Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano, File)
casinoslotsEven before pandemic lockdowns, theaters were upgrading sturdy plastic chairs to comfy leather recliners, and waiters at bespoke theaters began offering seat-side dining service (often at the cost of interrupting viewers to hand them the bill).
Alamo Drafthouse hosts “movie party” events where interaction is encouraged and its strict no-phone policy is void. Attendees at a special “ Magic Mike XXL ” screening were given fake money to throw at the screen, and visitors were encouraged to dress in regency garb for tea party screenings of movies like “ Pride and Prejudice ” and “ Emma. “
And though unique theater experiences may be rising in notoriety, decades of late-night screenings of “ The Room ” and “ The Rocky Horror Picture Show ” have enticed devotees to adopt unorthodox viewing practices. Longtime viewers gather at regular screenings to shout synchronized snark, toss items at the screen, and even act out the movie.
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
“It’s really hard, what we all do, especially coming out of the last four yearslucky sprite,” Barstow says. “The fun part is, all gloves are off as far as being creative and trying things. And that’s exciting.”
READ NEXT Shamcey Supsup-Lee promotes Pinoy pride in newly-opened store BB Gandanghari ‘creates memories’ with mom, brother Robin ... EDITORS' PICK VP Duterte on INC peace rally: Powerful display of unity and faith Pacman vs the Monster: Who is Asia’s GOAT? INC rally: Crowd swells to 1.5 million at Quirino Grandstand – police Tulfo urged to prioritize legalization of motorcycle taxis South Korea’s Yoon impeachment trial: what could happen? LIVE UPDATES: INC National Rally for Peace MOST READ Rep. Co removed from House appropriations post; replacement pending INQToday: INC members call for peace between Sara Duterte, Bongbong Marcos LIVE UPDATES: INC National Rally for Peace PDIC to hike bank deposit protection Follow @FMangosingINQ on Twitter --> View comments