MovieChat Forums > The Woman in Black (2012) Discussion > Is it really like this at movies?

Is it really like this at movies?

posted 9 years ago by aaronva
24 replies | jump to latest

So I read the main review that pops up for me for this movie and it talks about people reacting to the scary parts of movies by screaming together and making noises together and then clapping at the end of the movie together...and my question is: is this normal?

I am asking because outside of the couple of Lord of the Rings movies I have never experienced clapping at the end of a movie in a movie theatre or a "group-like" experience where everyone in the movie theatre was sort of...one entity watching the movie together and reacting to it together like is described.

Is this sort of like a city thing, where people in cities act differently in movie theatres than people in the suburbs or am I totally confused and off-base here?

Let me know.

(Joshua) To a homeless man: I'll give you 5 dollars if you let me throw a rock at you.

[–] OmegaWolf747 9 years ago

I've only experienced this with a few movies: Disney's Beauty and the Beast and yes the LOTR trilogy as well. I think it speaks to the quality of the movie rather than the location.

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House. My room. Cant walk. My medal. My father. Father, dont!

[–] KingCobra686 9 years ago

Location and time definitely matter. You're much more likely to get clapping at the midnight release of a movie than the early bird showing on sunday morning 4 weeks after its released.

[–] deadbodieseverywhere17 9 years ago

I've never seen it myself, or see the point of clapping to a screen. But I think I remember hearing of a lot of places doing after The Dark Knight (Heath Ledger thank you claps I'd say).

"The Martian Manhunter is the heart of the Justice League." - The Flash (Barry Allen)

[–] ayf_1983 9 years ago

Yes, that is part of why I still watch some movies in the theatre and not at home by myself on a dvd or streaming. For the shared group experience.

I remember the scene in Titanic after the ship sinks and Jack and Rose are freezing in the water. The theatre was quiet except for all the people around me sniffling onto their hankies or napkins. It was unreal.

[–] tc044 9 years ago

Almost every time I see a movie in a theater this happens, one of best group reactions I've experienced was when I saw the lego movie. When will Ferrell's character, his live character, comes on screen for the first time almost everyone aware of who he is started clapping and cheering. I really enjoy going to theaters because of these group reactions. And to answer your question, it happens a lot, its very common in some places.

[–] wrlord2001 9 years ago

People often clap at the movies these days. People are stupid.

[–] Keelai 9 years ago

I've been to quite a few movies in which people clapped at the end. They are just agreeing on the quality of the movie which is rare now with so many cliched action/superhero flicks.

Also, people used to shout-out something funny about a movie scene and the audience would laugh in agreement, but I haven't experienced that in a long time.

You may want to catch "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" for the ultimate movie group experience. (Just don't sit in the aisle seat.)

[–] austinbrannan 9 years ago

At the end of Despicable Me 2 and Les Miserables people clapped in my theater. These are the only two movies though and I see at least 2 movies every month.

[–] Dean0111 9 years ago

Harry Potter series for me. People were bawling in the theatre when certain characters died as well. For the last movie, the room was super crowded that some people snuck in and stood near the doors. It was quite an experience. I went to see The Woman in black with on a School day so sadly the room was nearly empty :(

[–] blanche-2 9 years ago

BOY. You guys are young. When Alien was shown in theaters, my friend almost gave birth to her baby right there, she bolted right out of the seat. You want to talk screaming.

The biggest screams from an audience were when Wait Until Dark was shown, when Alan Arkin jumps Audrey Hepburn.

And when I saw the Mel Gibson Hamlet, apparently the audience had no idea of the story because when Gertrude went to drink the poison, everyone in the audience was screaming at her not to drink it.

And then there's Psycho.

[–] jack_north 8 years ago

Blanche-2, I had the same type of experiences with those and some other movies. Seeing Jaws in the theaters was an awesome audience experience. As was The Exorcist.

We went to a preview screening of Bull Durham and the audience broke out in applause at the end. At the digital restoration viewing of Wizard of Oz just a few years back, the audience greeted the first appearance of most characters with a little applause. The Cowardly Lion got the biggest reaction. It was great!

Even a scattered chuckling at scenes in a subtle comedy are wonderful moments. I love the shared movie experience.

[–] blanche-2 8 years ago

yes, you are so right. When I went to the first restoration of Gone with the Wind, it was held at Radio City. Every time a new character was introduced, the audience applauded. It was really sweet. Movies were meant to be seen with an audience. When Billy Wilder did Some Like it Hot, when the guys first appear as women, they're walking by a train. Wilder extended the train for the laughter, and when Jack Lemmon says he's engaged with the marachas, the pauses in between were for laughs.