Silence is golden
Test your movie-theater phone etiquette
There’s a strong consensus! Where do you fall in the survey results?
Picture this: your favorite actors are on the big screen having an intense conversation, everyone in the theater is leaning in for the crucial next line — and your cell phone rings.
Do you answer it? Send it to voicemail? Kick yourself for forgetting to turn on Do Not Disturb? We asked 500 of your peers their habits and opinions — and we’d love to share, so you know what you’re getting into the next time you share an enclosed space with passionate moviegoers.
Cell phone etiquette in the movie theater
Real talk in the movie theater
Survey on cell phone etiquette by ATTSavings.com
Have you ever answered your phone in a movie theater?
On a scale from 1 to 5, how rude do you think it is to talk on the phone in a movie theater?
How often do you put your phone on silent during a movie?
Come clean: Have you answered the phone in a movie?
About one-third of our survey takers admitted to answering the phone in a movie theater.
Men were more likely than women to have answered the phone during a movie, with 35.4% saying yes compared to 29.2% of women.
The age group least likely to talk on the phone during a movie was 54 and older, with just 16.3% saying they’ve committed this faux pas.
The age group most likely to chat was 35–44, with 46.1% of older Millennials admitting to taking a call when the house lights were down. Gen Zers ages 16–24 were second most likely at 42%.
How rude is it, though? Tell us on a scale of 1 to 5
The consensus on answering the phone during a movie is that it’s very rude — 68.4% of our survey takers rated it a 5/5 offense.
The “very rude” consensus held strong across every generation, with 5/5 the most common rating in every age group.
The two age groups most likely to answer a call during a movie disagree on the severity of the offense: 61.7% of the more talkative 35–44 year olds rated it 5/5, while just 51.7% of 16–24 year olds rated it that high.
The oldest and the youngest survey takers were the only age groups with 100% of respondents considering it at least a bit rude (2/5 or higher) to answer a phone call mid-movie.
Do your phone manners include DND?
About two-thirds (69.5%) of our survey takers say they always use silent mode in the theater, roughly the same amount who say they’ve never answered the phone during a movie.
Moviegoers appear to take preventive measures seriously. Another 17.8% often put their phone on silent, bringing the regular Do Not Disturb users to 87.3%.
Although outnumbered, the contrarians stand strong. People were twice as likely to say they never put their phone on silent as compared to rarely.
The age group most likely to put their phone on silent was 45–54 year olds, with 92.3% saying they often or always shut the sound off.
Those with the most stringent DND habits were more likely to be women, with 73.6% saying they always go silent compared to 65.2% of men. However, men aged 54 and older were the most likely of any group to always use silent mode, with 76.7% insisting on it.
Methodology
We used survey platform Pollfish to ask 500 Americans, ages 16 and older, their habits and opinions about having mobile phone conversations at the movie theater. We gathered this data in August 2024.
You can be conscientious & see new movies at the same time!
Our team at ATTSavings.com loves a top-tier media experience, so we’ll always vote for taking phone calls out to the hall. For the times you’ve just gotta gab, what about a different kind of premium experience? Stream new releases on your AT&T home internet for the amazing picture quality, cheap concessions — and zero grumpy neighbors.
About AT&T Savings
Reporters can email questions to media@attsavings.com.
AT&T Savings, an authorized AT&T retailer.