Why are people taking pictures at the movies?

There’s a code of conduct for the multiplex experience, deliberately broadcast right before a movie: When the lights start to dim, we turn off our phones and end any side discussions. However, if dispatches of Wicked screenings around the country are any indication, this code isn’t being followed. 

In the few days since the highly anticipated musical movie Wicked arrived in theaters, it’s been difficult to scroll through social media without seeing photos — if not entire scenes — of the film taken from patrons’ phones. In-theater recordings of Wicked’s signature number “Defying Gravity” are all over TikTok. One X user went viral for asking fans to post photos they had snapped during the movie. This immediately ignited a conversation among film critics and cinephiles about a lack of theater etiquette in the general public. But is it totally their fault? 

It’s safe to say that the film marketing tactics of the past few years have taught people how to show up to movies — ready to whip out their phones. That’s not to mention the advent of streaming, plus the years spent mostly inside during the pandemic, that have certainly played a role in a lack of movie-going etiquette. 

In the wake of Barbenheimer, movies aren’t just meant to be shared with a room full of people but with others on social media. The endless merch and product tie-ins that come with IP films, as well as more organic efforts to dress up for screenings, have made the extremely mundane experience of sitting in a dark room for a couple of hours “content.” But what happens to moviegoing when it becomes all about sharing? 

Moviegoing for the ’gram

In an effort to recoup losses from the pandemic, there have been more and more incentives for people to get off their couches and back into movie theaters. These innovations certainly enhanced the moviegoing experience beyond snacking on popcorn, ultimately making it a lot more shareable and post-worthy online. 

Since 2019, when AMC offered specially designed R2-D2 popcorn buckets to coincide with the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, novelty items have made a huge comeback. Now, they’re an expected bonus when buying tickets for the year’s biggest releases. Over the past few years, AMC has sold uniquely designed buckets and cups for buzzy movies like The Mario Bros. Movie, Renaissance: A Film By Beyoncé, and Dune: Part Two. The last film’s elaborately designed bucket — with an opening resembling the mouth of a sandworm — was so attention-grabbing that it got its own parody song on an episode of Saturday Night Live. 

The 4Dx experience is another in-theater development that patrons can’t stop posting about. The immersive format, involving motion seats and practical effects, gained a lot of word-of-mouth popularity this year for movies like Madame Web, Twisters, and Deadpool and Wolverine. Much of this word-of-mouth, though, has occurred online, particularly on TikTok where influencers and regular customers film themselves being thrust around and sprayed with water while the movie’s playing. 

Outside of theaters, studios are investing more and more money into elaborate marketing campaigns for their buzziest movies, the most notable cases being the 2023 hit Barbie and this year’s Wicked. This advertising has largely manifested in endless brand collaborations, from luxury cars to Crocs, all designed to be collected and shared on social media with the movie’s hashtag. The ubiquity of the marketing suggests that if you aren’t seeing these movies in theaters, you’re missing out on a huge monocultural moment. 

Studios have also turned to influencers to provide early reactions to movies. Sometimes, these popular X and TikTok users are invited to advance screenings alongside journalists. In more and more cases — like with Gladiator II and Wicked — they’re given earlier access to these movies than some critics.

Amid all of these orchestrated marketing movies, it seems as though customers are finding unique ways to enhance the moviegoing experience for themselves. For example, the trend of “themed dressing” feels like an earnest expression of movie fan culture with organic roots. In the past, this trend has been reserved for movies associated with “nerd culture,” like Star Wars and Harry Potter. But “Barbenheimer” made this activity more of an instinctual habit for the average moviegoer. Without the instruction of a studio, everyone got the memo to wear pink to their screenings of Barbie and, on a lesser scale, black to see Oppenheimer. Since then, marketers have clearly taken notice. This seemed evident in a promotional video Blake Lively filmed earlier this year for the domestic abuse movie It Ends With Us, where she urged ticket-buyers to “wear their florals” in theme with the movie’s florist protagonist. The same phenomenon is occurring at Wicked showings, where fans are arriving in pink or green clothes, and even full-on green face paint to imitate the main character Elphaba. If fans weren’t planning on dressing up themselves, the pink-and-green marketing certainly implied that it was a crucial part of the theater experience.

What happens to a communal space when it’s all about content? 

Since Wicked’s premiere, moviegoers have been posting their reactions to the film — along with their themed outfits —  on TikTok and X, often directly from the theater. One trend that’s proved popular is a format where a user posts themselves before the movie starts with a hard cut to their emotional reaction during the credits or outside of the theater. In other cases, people have filmed themselves or the person next to them reacting to the movie while they’re watching it. 

Many of these emotional responses are genuine. But the urge to self-broadcast in the middle of a film speaks to a misunderstanding or, in some cases, complete disregard for the sanctity of movie theaters. In its worst interpretation, it shows a lack of respect for other people’s in-theater experiences. 

This phenomenon has become a problem outside of the theater, too. In the case of Wicked, many users have posted photos of the film, including spoilers or pivotal scenes. 

Undoubtedly, studios’ recent embrace of influencers as marketers has something to do with this. In an article for the Hollywood Reporter, writer Pamela McClintock said that, as “advertising on TV is more complicated and expensive,” studios have had to explore different promotional routes including “TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram, YouTube and other platforms.” Likewise, influencers are now appearing at press junkets, activations, and other events, implying that moviegoing is also about engagement.  

Entertainment reporter Raven Brunner says that screenings have contributed to the movie-posting problem, given that influencers and even critics are encouraged to take photos and post them. “When you go to an early screening, they have that customized banner before the movie starts that you’re supposed to take photos of,” she says. 

It’s hard not to draw a line from the posts that circulate after an advanced screening — whether it’s from a film account or a celebrity — to the average moviegoer snapping photos during Wicked. Comedian and writer Josh Gondelman thinks this problem exposes a tendency for moviegoers to view themselves as “creators” first. As a result, they end up prioritizing what they share with others over their own personal consumption. 

“There are so many ways to be like, ‘hey, check me out. I’m a person in the world engaging with culture,’ which I think is pleasant,” he says. “But you can do it without making everyone else’s experience in the theater secondary to your followers’ later.”

Still, he doesn’t think all movie-posting comes from a shallow, attention-seeking place. 

“I always try to be understanding and appreciative of people who want to do, like, a long vlog response to something and just want to share their thoughts on art,” he says. 

Still, there are basic rules of behaving in public that people, particularly in a younger, more online generation, are struggling with. The past few years since the pandemic spent largely inside watching movies on streamers presumably haven’t helped. 

At a bare minimum, these inescapable spoilers and leaked scenes show an enthusiasm around movies (or at least certain titles). Maybe there’s hope that, in a world where young people have been influenced to see movies again, they can also be influenced into turning off their phones.