Alamo Drafthouse Will No Longer Allow Late Arrivals At Film Showings

The more often you go the movies, the more snobby you become. Everything has to be just right: the seat, the picture, the sound, everything just a certain way so you can enjoy the film. What this (admittedly selfish) mindset also does is create a long list of pet peeves: other people talking during a movie; checking their phones; or arriving late and asking if those middle seats you got by showing up 30 minutes early are open. I am guilty of being one of these snobs.

Few things are more distracting when a movie starts than people who arrive after the show has started and the Alamo Drafthouse is doing something about it. Starting January 3, they'll be implementing a strict policy that no one will be admitted into a theater once the movie has begun. If you're running late, you can get your money back or a ticket to another showtime but everyone must arrive on time.

"Bravo," is my immediate reaction. What's yours? Read their full blog and comment below.

Here's the Drafthouse blog about this situation via Badass Digest:

Most of you guys have noticed that the Alamo is growing and changing in a lot of ways; some big, some small. Through it all, we will always strive to maintain our identity as The Movie Theater For Movie Lovers.

This is hugely important to us and remains the foundation of our company. It is part of the the culture of respect from which our "Don't Talk / Don't Text" ethos was born. We're truly fortunate to have customers who share our passion for not just movies, but for watching movies in as pure and uninterrupted a way as possible.

We are very excited to announce the rollout of a new solution designed to minimize distractions and make the moviegoing experience as pleasant as possible. It is an old idea, and one we have given a lot of thought to over the years, but we agree with many of our customers that its time has come.

Quite simply, no one will be seated once the film has begun. If you show up after the feature starts, you have missed it. The plane has left the terminal. If you bought in advance we can apply your ticket to another show or refund your money but you will not be admitted into the theater.

If a film starts at, say, 7:30 PM, you're welcome to arrive anytime up to then, head comfortably to your waiting seat and enjoy the show, content in the knowledge that the only people you'll see drifting past you in the darkness are our stealthy, ninja-like waitstaff. No more clumsy latecomers stepping on your Reeboks and fumbling up your elbows as they squint at their menus in the dark and chat with their server about the beer specials during the movie's crucial opening scenes.

This change goes into effect on January 3. We will begin educating our customers immediately.

It's a pretty major change, but a necessary one. We hope you like the new procedure and as always we'd love to hear your ideas on how to make it better.

As a filmgoer, when you choose to go to a movie, you take on certain responsibilities  Show up on time. Be quiet and courteous. Of course, things happens – traffic, etc. – so refunds will be given. If so, why would you want to walk into the movie late at all? The first few scenes of a movie are crucial, 100% of the time. I'd rather not see the movie than miss them.

Here in Los Angeles, the Arclight Cinemas have long said they have this policy in place but I rarely see it executed. More often than not the employee would rather just let the person into the theater than argue with them about the polices of the expensive theater they've chosen to patronize. Then the audience is forced to have their concentration broken as people struggle to find their seats in the dark.

Do you think the Drafthouse will be able to enforce this policy? Do you agree with it?