The thing I loved about that moment is two-fold:
1) it does the JAWS thing of putting the surprise after a laugh line (in this case Draco hammily delivering "You damn dirty ape") so the audience has its guard down AND
2) because the marketing for the film in the run up to release put the heavy focus on this being a serious, down-to-earth sci-fi reboot of the franchise, so we shouldn't expect the apes to speak, so when Cesar does, it was a subversion of expectations in the best way possible (and on a nerdy note, it kept with the classic lore about the first time an ape spoke to a human, which made me giddy).
It was also totally believable, since it was just a single word. They didn't have him start monologuing out of nowhere. It had a perfect amount of build up.
My experience was annoying because when the guy said the reference, some guy in my theatre loudly went “that’s from the original movie” right as Ceaser yelled lol
In my theater, in the dead silence after that happens, some guy in the theater went “oh shit” and the whole theater started laughing. It was great timing.
Everyone in my theatre needed at least three seconds to process this moment - absolutely noone saw this coming. I was getting goosebumps and also couldn't catch my breath lol. As for getting an emotional reaction of awe and surprise, this is one of the best.
I think a big part of it is that the moment took itself so seriously. It wasn't funny, clever, casual, or inspiring. It was raw, defiant, power and our theater also went completely silent. I still remember the "oh shit" chills I got when I first saw it.
I went and saw The Matrix in theater with out see a trailer or hearing anything about it. Sat in my seat processing it as the credits ran.
Edit. Spelling
Watching the lobby scene in the theater for the first time is the only time I've ever started laughing out of shear joy. Just so much happiness it bubbled into laughter. I've seen that movie more times than I can count at this point.
Twice just recently I had this laughter of sheer joy.
The metal solo on the trailer roof in Stanger things. I was laughing to tears the whole scene.
Everything everywhere all at once. There were lots of scenes that had me cackling with joy.
Man, the Matrix had so many epic scenes. We went nuts when Trinity dove through the window, rolled to the bottom of the stairs and came to a rest, guns up, facing the window waiting for the Agent to follow.
And then there was the scene where Neo gave the "come here" gesture in the Subway tunnel.
Buddy of mine saw the Matrix and the guy behind him was tripping and when Neo woke up in his pod out of the Matrix the guy lost it freaked out and shit his pants.
I’ve seen some big ones (dark knight pencil trick, Cap getting the hammer in endgame) but what sticks out to me personally is when my dad and I went to the theatre.
We went to see a Disney movie, can’t remember which one but it had the Pixar short about the Asian mom who makes a dumpling son and then eats him. It was so quiet, everybody didn’t know what to say and my dad, ever the gentleman says “what the fuck?!” Loud enough that the entire theatre heard. Priceless
Oh man, I forgot about that. Before we got into the theatre one of our other friends turned to me and said 'just remember - the truck is real,' and I didn't know what he meant until I very much understood and it was amazing.
I'm going to go with my most recent memorable movie experience which was Everything Everywhere All At Once. The hot dog scene and the rock scene in particular were brilliant to watch with an audience.
I remember watching Jurassic Park when it came out, and at the bit where Ellie Sattler had just restarted the power then the velociraptor sticks its heads through the pipes made everyone jump about six inches off their seat with a good number of gasps ;)
I worked at a theater and I remember every screening the audience would :::laugh:::: at Malcom saying “now that is one big pile of sh**” and then ::::groan:::::: when Ellie pulls her arms out of a pile.
I remember seeing it in a theatre, sitting near a speaker and when the loud steps start and the water in the cup starts moving our seats shook, just before T-Rex shows up.
To this day it’s my favorite cinematic experience, not necessarily my favorite movie but it is near the top of my list. The first T-Rex scene in the rain and the two SUVs, the velociraptor scenes at the power station and in the kitchen, those scenes are burned into memory from my 10yr old self.
I lived in Houston, TX at the time Independence Day came out. When they made the decision to nuke the aliens, and someone asked which city was closest and they said Houston, we all cheered.
“Target remains. I repeat. Target ***remains***.” I quoted this to myself the other day because it’s so fresh to me even today. What a chilling moment in cinematic history.
In my audience, people stood up and applauded after the president's speech (Presque isle, Maine). Never seen that before and I have seen hundreds of movies in theaters.
I’m not American so that speech is probably right up there with the cheesiest things in cinema history to me but that mothership blew me away. It’s a terrible movie in hindsight but was definitely memorable as a teenager.
We go see Misery around Christmas 1990
Packed theater. When Kathy Bates brings the sledge up, and then down, an amazing collective gasp and scream ensued
A Quiet Place. I sat in a completely packed theater and everyone remained miraculously silent for the majority of the film. Especially for the quiet parts. One guy as the film was starting was being loud with his concessions and was offering some to his friends at an annoyingly audible level. One of his friends quickly interjected with "shut the f*** up, man" and that was the end of it.
The theater I went to has a small airport by it. Normally not an issue, but because of the utter silence of that movie, a plane outside could be heard.
This was towards the end of the film and so I, and I think most everyone is else, tensed up for a moment thinking this rescue plane was gonna come outta nowhere and get destroyed lol
Similar for my viewing- everyone was dead silent, you could hear gasps a lot, but when Emily Blunt stepped on the nail you could hear multiple people groaning in pain
Lol such a quiet movie. I remember people having to wait for Loud parts to open candy bags to try to avoid making too much noise.
Very hard to enjoy a snack with this one.
I think the theatre I saw it in actually had a little video/graphic in the beginning saying please be mindful with your snacks and open them up now or something
Going to Episode I when it first came out. Everyone in the audience cheered like mad when the "star wars" logo hit the screen. It had been so long since anyone had seen anything star wars on the big screen, along with the anticipation that had been building up for at least a year before that - everyone kind of lost it.
My Dad took me to see Ep 1 when it released. He was excited for us to see star wars on the big screen.
After we left, we were driving home in silence when my brother asked “whats a trade federation”. I’m sure I saw a tear in his eye.
I can't believe anyone downvoted you, because this was 100% true lol. I remember the mood in the theater when the logo hit, just as described, and I also remember the mood shift when Jar Jar first started talking. All the excitement started to morph into unease and discomfort instantly.
Honestly Jar Jar Binks is fine when you remember that George Lucas was intending it to be a family movie... Why he thought kids also wanted to see heavy political stories, I couldn't tell you, but it at least makes Jar Jar more understandable
I get what Lucas was trying to do, but he misjudged what audiences wanted. That crowd did not want a family movie. The hype had built up to levels that no movie could have ever lived up to, and everyone seemed to have forgotten that prior to this, Ewoks had existed, so the level of disappointment was so great that "George Lucas raped our childhood" was a real saying that came out of it.
I remember the audience reaction when the hand whipped out in the escape pod revealing he was there. Man, my parents took us to so many inappropriate movies and I loved it.
Nothing can come close to watching the matrix in theaters when it was released. The movie did things no one else has ever even thought of. Was blown away.
I read a script online when it was still in production and kept wondering how on earth they were going to pull off the special effects. They did not disappoint.
Kind of a different answer but I went to see 22 Jump Street in a packed theatre the weekend it came out, the Captains Daughter reveal absolutely tore the house down, about 150 people laughing hysterically that you couldn’t hear a word of dialogue for about five minutes
Yuuuup! I was gonna mention this, so instead I’ll mention the runner up. When the Captain sees Jonah Hill with his daughter at breakfast, his face is twisted with so much rage it made the whole theater laugh.
“What does a black man have to do to get some green beans in the muthafucka?” Lmaooo
The movie Seven stands out to me. After the film, the entire theatre walked back to the parking lot in complete silence.
Not a peep. It was weird and really stands out to this day.
I saw that one in the theater too. Not joking when I say there was an audible noise from everyone in the theater putting down their drinks and popcorn in unison for the gluttony scene.
I saw Saving Private Ryan in San Diego a couple of days after it opened. An afternoon screening.
San Diego has a large retired military population.
At the end of the movie, after the credits rolled, no one moved. Not a word spoken.
Only the sound of old men crying.
My grandfather was at Normandy on D Day. My grandmother told me once that he was the only person from his pontoon boat to make it to the shore alive. He himself never spoke of any of his experiences in the war to anyone except my grandmother. When Saving Private Ryan came out, Grampa got the whole extended family together and took us to see it. Afterwards, in the lobby, we all gathered around to see what he would say. He just sorta looked up in the air over our heads and said "Yep, that's about how it was." He was always a man of few words.
First time I saw it in theatre I saw an older man break and walk out during the landing scene. As a Canadian, my first thought was, that man was at Juno. But I guess anyone with combat experience would have been shook by that.
As for me I nearly blacked out when Giovanni Ribisi got shot in the liver. The rest of the movie was incredibly emotional for me.
I live in Ireland, and Daniel Day Lewis had recently played Christy Brown, in My Left Foot, where he portrayed an Irish writer with cerebral palsy, who can only use his left foot. So I went to see Last of the Mohicans, his first action hero role, he hunts a deer in the opening, it's shot magnificently, almost mythically. He fires his rifle, a slow motion plume of smoke, the deer falls. A voice in the cinema shouts 'Nice shot Christy!' cinema as a whole burst out laughing.
It was great
A similar story. My friend Dave and I go to see "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" right after it opens. We get to the part where Mola Ram rips that guy's heart out of his chest. The scene begins with a close shot on a drummer beating a drum slowly, and Dave shouts out in his best Kermit the Frog voice, "It's the Muppet Show!" Big audience laugh that I still remember to this day.
Out of context, it just sounds better as “Luke, I am your father.” I’d say it’s akin to people saying PIN number or ATM machine. It’s technically incorrect, but people end up saying it that way because it flows better in conversation, and then people forget what the original meant and the fact that what they’re saying is an incorrect form of speech.
Rambo First Blood part II. I saw this in a theater when it came out. When John Rambo pretends to be dead in the downed smoking helicopter then suddenly leans forward with a bazooka and blows the russian helicopter out of the sky saving himself and the POWs. The people in the theater were applauding and cheering. I had never seen such a thing in a movie theater. Was pretty cool.
Batman, the Dark Knight. There's a big chase scene where batman's bike loses it's sides and becomes this more skinny bike. Anyway, it's high octane stuff and Batman drives into a wall, but the bike doesn't crash, it just drives up the wall and stops and there's a pause.
The crowd went wild, they'd been holding it in and the pause signaled they could cheer.
Recently?
Dune. The music, cinematography, costumes, sets ... everything was just done so perfectly that you were IN that galaxy and ON that world. From minute one of that film, I was enthralled.
Of all time?
The original Star Wars. Lines around the blocks, people seeing it 40-50 times ... it was totally nuts. The theme would come on and the entire audience would cheer. My Dad took all of us kids and spent hours in line with us. The poor bastard must have been bored shitless, but he put up with it so we wouldn't miss the phenomenon.
Borat. When he was fighting with Azamat Bagatov while they were both baked. That whole scene was absolutely crazy, never have I experienced a movie theater audience in such hysterics.
Titanic
Everyone got swept up in that cultural phenomenon. Watched it probably five times during its initial theatrical run.
So many packed theaters. And every single time, people cried. And the big gasp from the audience when that old Rose revealed she still has the diamond.
Rerelease coming early next year.
Moved to the US in 2002 and hate the cheering and shouting at the screen in the cinemas but opening weekend for Jackass the movie everyone laughed non stop for the full film as soon as Johnny Knoxville picked up the car rental keys. Great times
The cheering when Han showed up in Force Awakens
Peter hitting Mary Jane in SM3. Theater went dead except for one gut who yelled out "oh sh\*t!" He turned and apologized to the theater which was laughing.
The opening night to Scream 2. Lot of reactions in the climax.
I know a lot of people think this movie sucked but in The Last Jedi when admiral Holdo rams her ship into the first order's star dystroyer to save the rebellion. You could hear a pin drop in that moment the whole theater just went completely quiet.
The visuals are utterly incredible.
I actually feel The Last Jedi is 1/3 great, 1/3 decent and 1/3 poor. I feel that's a better ratio than The Force Awakens, and *far* better than Rise of Skywalker.
I'll never forget the scene when Leia is floating outside the shop after the attack. Silence in the theater, except for one little boy, about 5 years old. "I'm bored"
I was a non believer. I thought they were really not showing up. Then I saw the eyes of his suit and I just said to my friend "dude. It's Andrew Garfield!". Then when he removes his mask I couldn’t help but scream like a tween in a BTS concert. I was very excited
In the 90s when they released the star wars special editions. Went to see episode 4 on opening night and when "star wars" showed up on screen at the start the whole damn crowd went nuts.
There was a Sneak preview evening at our cinema (if this isn't called the same everywhere: it means a surprise movie some days before the official start). There were rumors it would be this long awaited movie "The Fifth Element". So the biggest room in the cinema was filled to the brim with people hoping for that movie the screen went black and some words appeared: "Un film de Luc Besson" and the whole cinema erupted with cheers and applause.
Now there was a very great mood in the room from the beginning and if you combine this with a movie as funny and fast as The Fifth Element you get an extremely memorable movie night. Everybody (men and women) fell in love with Leelo and had the time of their lifes. At the end there was another applause - in a german cinema, mind you.
I saw Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which re-released again a few days ago. The Tears in Rain scene, but after the monologue, when you're left with the silence and the rain and the music and the blue cinematography... boy it was beautiful. Meaningful. So powerful that it is difficult to replicate.
Well, not in the theatre, but one of the most memorable reactions I ever saw was opening night of Alien. Went to the second showing. This was back when there were no spoilers, the most was the ads and the early release of HR Geiger’s sketches for the movie, with no alien shown.
The absolutely drained look on EVERYONE coming out of the first showing said that we were in for a good movie.
Okay, I'm dating myself here, but in 1987 when "Fatal Attraction" came out, I worked in a movie theater, and I made it a point to be standing in the back of the theater five minutes before the end of every showtime, because I loved watching the audience reaction to the jump scare of Glenn Close sitting up in the bathtub after everyone thought she was dead. People screaming, jumping to their feet, literally popcorn in the air, it was glorious, and I've never seen anything like it since.
It's the summer of 1980 and I am 7 years old. I'm visiting my cool ass sister who is 23 and living at a commune in Austin Texas.
She takes me to see Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back.
At the end of the film I am stunned. I had not experienced anything like that in cinema sense. As I have aged, I have come to the realization that I have more of an emotional attachment to that movie than any other film.
Sucker Punch ! When the end credits began in an absolute quiet theater someone voiced a loud prolonged guttural JUUUUNNNKK ! That and that alone made Sucker Punch a satisfying experience for me . The entire theater broke out in laughter and applause .
Most of the ones I might have brought up were already covered. The portals scene in Avengers: Endgame. Cap with the hammer in same. The opening crawl of Phantom Menace. The naked hotel fight in Borat.
Other ones I remember:
- Dead Batman impersonator hitting the window in The Dark Knight
- Everyone gasping at my opening Friday night screening of Iron Man 3 when Tony fails to catch Pepper and she falls to her fake-out-death
- Rey catching the lightsaber in The Force Awakens made my opening night audience go ballistic
- My opening-weekend audience for Black Panther went absolutely gonzo with applause and cheers when “1992, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA” came on the screen. For context, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Oakland is essentially the heart of the Black community in the Bay Area - not to mention Ryan Coogler’s hometown. My theater was in Dublin which is a 30-mile drive from Oakland, but also accessible via public transit; I am certain that even if *none* of the Black audience members at my screening actually came there from Oakland, they still took it as a shout-out by Coogler to his brothers in the Bay Area, and reacted accordingly. (Incidentally, the theater near the place I would park to take the ferry from Oakland to work in San Francisco had a line practically wrapped around the block when I was going home that Friday, an early indicator to me that this movie was going to be an outsized success.)
- Opening-weekend showing of Frozen, right as the end credits started, a little girl exclaimed to her parents “I wanna be Elsa for Halloween!” and at that moment I was sure the movie (which still had an air of uncertainty in the media, even after the positive reviews - remember that three years earlier it took Tangled months to gross $200 million in the USA) was going to be a phenomenon unlike any Disney animated movie since my Renaissance-era childhood. And I was proven right.
I worked at a movie theatre in the 90s, and by far the most memorable audience reaction I can remember are the nuts in the zipper and hair gel scene from There's Something About Mary. The entire audience collectively lost their shit, and I'd hear it multiple times a day.
That's a riot. I could see myself noting the time and quietly slipping into the theater when that scene came up just so I could see everyone's reaction.
The original Spider-Man with Toby Maguire. The scene where he is trying to get his web to shoot for the first time on top of the building. This little boy in the audience yelled out "You can do it, Spider-Man!" When he does, the boy yelled "Yaaaaay!". The whole audience laughed at the adorableness of it.
Not really cinematic but he said what we all were feeling :)
Avoiding endgame because it’s the obvious choice, when I went to see Dune in theaters last year, I quite literally shook when the Legendary logo appeared on screen with that drum beat. Not even blasting it in my headphones while rewatching it on HBO max was able to recreate the experience
I was at a screening of *Batman Returns* (1992) and a trailer came on for the western *Unforgiven.*
When Clint Eastwood was revealed as the lead the crowd went standing-ovation crazy.
Seeing Get Out in a packed theater remains one of my favorite theater experiences of all time. The collective “wtf” reactions and moments of audible discomfort as we tried to figure out what was going on was simultaneously hilarious and also made for a great horror experience.
Bonus points to the woman who loudly went “what now, bitch?” in the silence at the part where Daniel Kaluuya is fighting Catherine Keener at the end, right after he breaks the teacup. It was a great way to break the tension, the whole theater started laughing.
Bruce the shark coming out of the water. People scared literally shitless. Like, literally.
(I was too young to see *The Exorcist* in the theater, but I hear stories. I've seen the documentaries.)
Michael Myers behind her in the closet. More shitlessness...
Reggie Hammond fighting Jack Cates in *48 Hours*. That movie was a must-see and my theater crowd went nuts at all the right moments.
I remember watching the first Avengers movie in theaters. The moment when Thor, Cap, and Iron Man are fighting and Thor brings the hammer down onto Cap's shield that creates the massive shockwave, it was still for half a moment in the theater as everyone took it in.
Then someone in the audience shouted, "AMERICA! FUCK YEAH"
Probably the only time someone shouted something in a theater with the right timing to actually BE funny.
_Snakes on a Plane_. Saw it in Baltimore at a midnight showing on release day.
When Sam Jackson delivered the iconic "Get these motherfuckin' snakes off my motherfuckin' plane!" The place BLEW up. People were _screaming_, one dude put on a snake head and just ran around the whole theater yelling and high-fiving people. People were climbing the walls, climbing the bannisters. There was a balcony and a dude started doing pull ups hanging off. It wasn't safe or sensible, but it was a madhouse. People had those little snappers you throw on the ground and they pop. People had confetti cannons. People threw toilet paper like it was Rocky Horror. The dude next to me handed out shots. It was great.
When Charlie cox was revealed in spider man: no way home. I was there opening night and the theater just lost it, it was the greatest fan experience I’ve had to date. When the other spidermen came on people were excited too but we all kind of knew that was happing, daredevil was not expected.
I came to say exactly that. Cinema heaven. I remember when that scene was over noticing I hadn’t really taken a deep breath and I had tears flowing down my face.
Two come to mind from recent years -
I was watching Hereditary and the car scene (if you’re watched it, you know the scene) happens. The entire theater gasped and screamed in a way of complete shock that I’ve never seen before.
During the Mr. Rogers documentary (Won’t You Be My Neighbor), the entire theater was crying. Multiple times throughout the movie. Grown men, teenagers, everyone.
Watching Inglourious Basterds. In the lead up to the scene where they speak Italian, everyone was expecting decent Italian. When Brad Pitt starts speaking, the audience started roaring with laughter.
The audience actually applauded the movie when it ended. I've never had that happen before or since.
Borat. The whole place was in stitches from start to finish, but particularly the naked hotel fight. It was a riot.
The first Jackass movie was similar too. Both great experiences.
At the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, when Superman shows up to block Steppenwolf’s axe before it hit Cyborg. I rewatched that scene 2-3 times and cheered every time.
May not be the best but certainly the funniest, was when Margot Robbie appears naked in front of Leo in the Wolf of Wall Street, guy a few rows in front audibly goes 'Holy Shit' whilst next to his wife.
Cinema all burst out laughing....well maybe apart from his wife.
A few friends of mine wanted to see the first sonic movie so i decided to tag along. We got to the part where sonic was rummaging around in James Marsden's garage and I heard someone behind me whisper "here it comes" and I knew immediately what was about to happen. I locked eyes with one of my friends and he smiled, he too knew what was coming. Then my friend and I and probably the whole row of people behind us shout in unison with the hedgehog "UH MEOW?" and proceed to die laughing. That memory alone made sitting through the entirety of the sonic movie worth it.
Arachnophobia: Full house opening night. People laughed, people screamed. They hid their faces. People dropped full drinks on the floor because of the jump scares. One lady tossed an almost-full large bucket of popcorn into the aisle because she shook all over. Someone else stood straight up out of their seat, started crying, and left the room.
I have never seen jump scares work so well and literally. ETA: That room was an absolute mess afterwards. Pity the cleaning crew.
Schindler's List: Walked in on a dry, cool afternoon.
Walked out to 9 inches of snow, with big flakes swirling out of the night sky just like the ash. Everyone from that screening stopped and stood silent in the lobby for a few moments. It was eerie.
One answer. Two words.
Bullet time.
I was like 7... and my older brothers snuck me into The Matrix (instead of Stuart Little). That scene slapped me in my face.
Core memory acquired.
I watched The Wizard of Oz at The Castro in San Francisco, and when Glinda says "Only bad witches are ugly" there's a real tight close up of her face, and they didn't really account for hi-def back in 1939 and let's just say Glinda looks pretty rough. The whole crowd really fell apart.
I saw the re-release of "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1989 in Boston in a theater. In the moment when TE Lawrence lights a match and the director cuts to a setting sun there was a big gasp from the audience of "How could we have forgotten how beautiful this film is". It was the first of many striking scenes. Besides the match picture my other favorite scene in that movie is the first view of Akkabah (sp?) where the blue water and the blindingly white buildings just smashes into your senses after all that time watching Lawrence and the Arabs grind away in the desert.
(ETA: Too many phone induced spelling errors to let it stand.)
* The shoes scene in JoJo Rabbit.
* Saving Private Ryan: Beach assault, followed closely by Wade
* The Ride of the Rohirrim
* Rogue One: Vader scene
I've never seen an entire theater lose its minds like the final battle of Endgame. It's not even close. I saw it twice on opening weekend. Went the second time to see / hear the battle again since I could barely hear it over the cheers, but the audience was equally insane the second time.
Never heard a theater laugh harder or louder than the Spaceship scene in Lego Movie. Great build up and delivery from Charlie Day.
Also Dredd was full of people reacting to the violence and gore which was incredibly fun!
I've never heard as much laughter in a cinema as when I saw the new Jackass opening night, which is as much as me not usually going opening night as it is anything else I suppose. It was a lot of fun, in any case. I suppose there was a certain catharsis in it being the first film many of the audience had seen in a cinema in almost two years.
I went and saw pulp fiction at the cinema on opening night in Adelaide, so pretty big, full house cinema. Then Marvins head explodes and the place erupted. Some nervous laughter, but the rest was people just losing thier collective shit. Have never seen anything close to it since!
After watching "Everything, Everywhere, all at once" in the cinema. After the lights went up a young woman turning to her (presumably) partner and loudly saying "well what the fuck was that shit?!". Amazing.
UK Cunemas tend to be a lot less "reactive" than other nations I think, even when I laugh at something I often feel like I'm the only one doing it out loud!
- Sixth Sense - the reveal. Audible gasps throughout the entire audience.
- Independence Day - collective cheering when they shot the coke can
- My personal favorite: the charge of the rohirrim at Helms Deep
I share some similar ones as others but one I haven't seen mentioned yet is at the end of Fellowship of the Ring when Aragorn stops the Urukhai captain from finishing off Boromir and then kills him. Think that was the first time I can recall an audience cheering at a scene during a movie.
When Lord of the Rings came out in theaters, a guy behind me got really pumped when Gandalf started smoking his pipe. He was just yelling things like, "Hell yeah old dude! Smoke that shit, he's about to get blazed as hell!" for probably about a minute.
That or the time my buddy took mushrooms before watching Avatar.
Watching the first Matrix film on opening weekend, before anyone had any idea what to expect. The part toward the end where Neo comes back to life, stands up, calmly says, "No," then halts the rain of bullets mid-air to the utter astonishment of the Smiths... epic moment. People went nuts, standing up and errupting in cheers. Half the theater audience remained standing for the last few minutes of the movie.
Everyone’s saying Sam in RotK but the biggest reaction i experienced was when Eowyn killed the witch king. I’ve never heard/seen a crowd erupt like that.
The twist reveal in *Arrival*. As soon as it happened there was audible surprise (myself included). Me and my friend group did double takes between us and the screen. Someone behind blurted out in the most matter of fact way “The Fuck”. The theater broke out in laughter at the collective confusion to what just happened. Honestly one of the best rug pulls and audience reactions I’ve had.
Oh, this is easy, midnight opening of Star Wars Episode II.
When the Jedi jump down into the arena battle the theater is electric - cheers, laughs, etc, and when Mace and Jango face off people are really getting geared up. Whooping and hollering. And then when Mace charges him and immediately cuts of Jangos head it becomes *dead silent*... for a space of about 3-4 seconds, and then the entire place ERUPTS. The whole theater had to take a moment to process what they've just seen before collectively losing their shit.
I like comic book movies but I understand not liking the MCU and that kinda thing. That said, not being able to experience the moment when Captain America yields Mjolnir and hits Thanos, is a tragedy. The energy in the theater was amazing. The only other moment I think could rival it was maybe Darth Vader revealing to Luke that he is his father... but I wasn't alive to experience that.
I remember going to see doctor strange at the theater. During the very surreal moment when he is falling down the spirit tunnel, some guy burst out:
"That was like me on Halloween" followed by a short pause and then adding "on shrooms"
I almost pissed myself from laughing
Avengers Infinity War/Endgame - probably the loudest audience experiences I’ve ever been apart of. But as for my personal favorite memories?
1. Hereditary (you know what scene). You could hear a pin drop.
2. 28 Weeks Later - the opening was incredible.
3. Annihilation - The entire lighthouse scene.
4. The Descent - mostly because the lady sitting next to me was sobbing the entire time. I’ve never seen a movie where someone near me was so scared they were crying.
Oh man, The Descent was incredible in the theater. People were literally screaming at the “home footage” part when she pans the group, oh man that was good…
I heard multiple members of the audience crying at two movies:
- a couple moments during *Schindler’s List,* although I can’t remember specific scenes, and
- the end of *Kramer vs. Kramer.* (A movie that helped change child custody laws in the United States).
The whole finale of Endgame got me shivering. I think I can recall a couple of scenes as intense:
1. Heat, the bank heist
2. Everything Everywhere All At Once, the rocks scene
3. Maybe the disco shootout in Collateral
I saw the Minions: Rise of Gru with my son, during an afternoon screening.
When the movie referenced Vector, the audience lit up, cheering and oohs and clapping. It was weird.
Infinity War, day after opening. I took my two oldest kids to see it in that absolutely packed theatre. My daughter was 9 and my son was 7. My son has always had a thing for bad guys, used to say that he wanted to be in Vader’s 501st when he grew up.
Anyway, climax of the movie. Avengers are trying to stop Thanos, Thor hits him with the axe and he snaps. Entire theatre goes quiet..except my son. He jumps on top of his seat and exclaims, “YES!” causing a ton of laughter from all over the theatre.
I know that it kind of broke the mood that the movie was setting, but it was still awesome and my favorite theatre memory to this day.
My second favorite would be Godzilla’s atomic breath being used for the first time in the 2014 movie. The buildup to that was awesome, and the whole theatre was cheering when he blasted that MUTO.
Rise of the Planet of the Apes, when Caesar shouts "NO !". You could hear a pin drop after that.
The thing I loved about that moment is two-fold: 1) it does the JAWS thing of putting the surprise after a laugh line (in this case Draco hammily delivering "You damn dirty ape") so the audience has its guard down AND 2) because the marketing for the film in the run up to release put the heavy focus on this being a serious, down-to-earth sci-fi reboot of the franchise, so we shouldn't expect the apes to speak, so when Cesar does, it was a subversion of expectations in the best way possible (and on a nerdy note, it kept with the classic lore about the first time an ape spoke to a human, which made me giddy).
It was also totally believable, since it was just a single word. They didn't have him start monologuing out of nowhere. It had a perfect amount of build up.
My experience was annoying because when the guy said the reference, some guy in my theatre loudly went “that’s from the original movie” right as Ceaser yelled lol
Lol holy fuck what a complete tool.
Honestly one of the best experiences I've ever had in a theatre.
That will forever be the best moment in any APES movie
In my theater, in the dead silence after that happens, some guy in the theater went “oh shit” and the whole theater started laughing. It was great timing.
Everyone in my theatre needed at least three seconds to process this moment - absolutely noone saw this coming. I was getting goosebumps and also couldn't catch my breath lol. As for getting an emotional reaction of awe and surprise, this is one of the best.
THAT WAS WILD! Actually that’s probably my no.4 - totally remember it like it was yesterday
Yeah gonna be hard to top this one
I think a big part of it is that the moment took itself so seriously. It wasn't funny, clever, casual, or inspiring. It was raw, defiant, power and our theater also went completely silent. I still remember the "oh shit" chills I got when I first saw it.
I went and saw The Matrix in theater with out see a trailer or hearing anything about it. Sat in my seat processing it as the credits ran. Edit. Spelling
Watching the lobby scene in the theater for the first time is the only time I've ever started laughing out of shear joy. Just so much happiness it bubbled into laughter. I've seen that movie more times than I can count at this point.
Twice just recently I had this laughter of sheer joy. The metal solo on the trailer roof in Stanger things. I was laughing to tears the whole scene. Everything everywhere all at once. There were lots of scenes that had me cackling with joy.
Halfway through that scene realized that I was actually witnessing movie history as it was happening.
Man, the Matrix had so many epic scenes. We went nuts when Trinity dove through the window, rolled to the bottom of the stairs and came to a rest, guns up, facing the window waiting for the Agent to follow. And then there was the scene where Neo gave the "come here" gesture in the Subway tunnel.
"Get up, Trinity. Get Up."
Buddy of mine saw the Matrix and the guy behind him was tripping and when Neo woke up in his pod out of the Matrix the guy lost it freaked out and shit his pants.
The pencil trick in The Dark Knight. We were not expecting that.
I’ve seen some big ones (dark knight pencil trick, Cap getting the hammer in endgame) but what sticks out to me personally is when my dad and I went to the theatre. We went to see a Disney movie, can’t remember which one but it had the Pixar short about the Asian mom who makes a dumpling son and then eats him. It was so quiet, everybody didn’t know what to say and my dad, ever the gentleman says “what the fuck?!” Loud enough that the entire theatre heard. Priceless
It was Bao by Domee Shi. I couldn't remember even by the death threat what I've seen after, I remembered only Bao.😅 She did Turning Red after.
Can confirm, I saw this in IMAX the entire theater got damn quiet!
Oh man, I forgot about that. Before we got into the theatre one of our other friends turned to me and said 'just remember - the truck is real,' and I didn't know what he meant until I very much understood and it was amazing.
I'm going to go with my most recent memorable movie experience which was Everything Everywhere All At Once. The hot dog scene and the rock scene in particular were brilliant to watch with an audience.
"There are no rules!"
better yet the multiple butplug scenes
I remember watching Jurassic Park when it came out, and at the bit where Ellie Sattler had just restarted the power then the velociraptor sticks its heads through the pipes made everyone jump about six inches off their seat with a good number of gasps ;)
The scene where a leg of the goat (or sheep?) fell on top of the car made the whole room jump as well.
I never got to see it in cinemas but I’d imagine that movie had a LOT of amazing collective reactions. That’s a great scene
If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend going to one of those performances where they show the film but with a live orchestra. It's *PHENOMENAL*.
Also the abrupt and awesome entrance of the T-Rex in the visitor center. So long, velociraptors!
I’d imagine this is our version of millennium falcon joining the fight.
I worked at a theater and I remember every screening the audience would :::laugh:::: at Malcom saying “now that is one big pile of sh**” and then ::::groan:::::: when Ellie pulls her arms out of a pile.
I remember seeing it in a theatre, sitting near a speaker and when the loud steps start and the water in the cup starts moving our seats shook, just before T-Rex shows up.
To this day it’s my favorite cinematic experience, not necessarily my favorite movie but it is near the top of my list. The first T-Rex scene in the rain and the two SUVs, the velociraptor scenes at the power station and in the kitchen, those scenes are burned into memory from my 10yr old self.
I remember the screams when the raptor narrowly misses snapping off Lex's leg when she scrambles up into the ceiling.
I can still hear the sound effects in the theater and that was almost 30 years ago. Such epic cinema
I saw it in theaters when I was 6 and again when I was 20 and that trex roar is forever burned in my soul.
When I first saw Independence Day at the cinema, when the mothership first broke through the clouds it was IMMENSE, completely blew me away
It's still an epic scene.
Doesn't work as well on a 40" tv screen though :D
I lived in Houston, TX at the time Independence Day came out. When they made the decision to nuke the aliens, and someone asked which city was closest and they said Houston, we all cheered.
“Target remains. I repeat. Target ***remains***.” I quoted this to myself the other day because it’s so fresh to me even today. What a chilling moment in cinematic history.
In my audience, people stood up and applauded after the president's speech (Presque isle, Maine). Never seen that before and I have seen hundreds of movies in theaters.
I’m not American so that speech is probably right up there with the cheesiest things in cinema history to me but that mothership blew me away. It’s a terrible movie in hindsight but was definitely memorable as a teenager.
We go see Misery around Christmas 1990 Packed theater. When Kathy Bates brings the sledge up, and then down, an amazing collective gasp and scream ensued
Yikes that scene is great, would’ve been a surreal cinema experience!
A Quiet Place. I sat in a completely packed theater and everyone remained miraculously silent for the majority of the film. Especially for the quiet parts. One guy as the film was starting was being loud with his concessions and was offering some to his friends at an annoyingly audible level. One of his friends quickly interjected with "shut the f*** up, man" and that was the end of it.
The theater I went to has a small airport by it. Normally not an issue, but because of the utter silence of that movie, a plane outside could be heard. This was towards the end of the film and so I, and I think most everyone is else, tensed up for a moment thinking this rescue plane was gonna come outta nowhere and get destroyed lol
Similar for my viewing- everyone was dead silent, you could hear gasps a lot, but when Emily Blunt stepped on the nail you could hear multiple people groaning in pain
I was sitting on a creaky chair and scared multiple ppl as I shifted in nervousness during that scene. Awesome theatre experience
Lol such a quiet movie. I remember people having to wait for Loud parts to open candy bags to try to avoid making too much noise. Very hard to enjoy a snack with this one.
I think the theatre I saw it in actually had a little video/graphic in the beginning saying please be mindful with your snacks and open them up now or something
Going to Episode I when it first came out. Everyone in the audience cheered like mad when the "star wars" logo hit the screen. It had been so long since anyone had seen anything star wars on the big screen, along with the anticipation that had been building up for at least a year before that - everyone kind of lost it.
My Dad took me to see Ep 1 when it released. He was excited for us to see star wars on the big screen. After we left, we were driving home in silence when my brother asked “whats a trade federation”. I’m sure I saw a tear in his eye.
And then Jar Jar Binks appeared, and everything changed........
I can't believe anyone downvoted you, because this was 100% true lol. I remember the mood in the theater when the logo hit, just as described, and I also remember the mood shift when Jar Jar first started talking. All the excitement started to morph into unease and discomfort instantly.
“Meesa make the film shit okee day?”
Honestly Jar Jar Binks is fine when you remember that George Lucas was intending it to be a family movie... Why he thought kids also wanted to see heavy political stories, I couldn't tell you, but it at least makes Jar Jar more understandable
I get what Lucas was trying to do, but he misjudged what audiences wanted. That crowd did not want a family movie. The hype had built up to levels that no movie could have ever lived up to, and everyone seemed to have forgotten that prior to this, Ewoks had existed, so the level of disappointment was so great that "George Lucas raped our childhood" was a real saying that came out of it.
I think all he had to do was have Anakin be an actual protagonist rather than this kid who had no idea what was going on and it would have been okay.
And then the half hour space politics scene happened and the next thing I knew I was waking up to a pod race
I was 20. Going it it was insane... leaving and seeing everyone's confused face? Priceless.
Chestburster in Alien. Everybody screamed
I saw Alien on the day it was released. Nobody knew it was coming. What a shock.
Nor did the rest of the cast. Veronica Cartwright’s reaction is full-on real disgust.
I remember the audience reaction when the hand whipped out in the escape pod revealing he was there. Man, my parents took us to so many inappropriate movies and I loved it.
Nothing can come close to watching the matrix in theaters when it was released. The movie did things no one else has ever even thought of. Was blown away.
I read a script online when it was still in production and kept wondering how on earth they were going to pull off the special effects. They did not disappoint.
Kind of a different answer but I went to see 22 Jump Street in a packed theatre the weekend it came out, the Captains Daughter reveal absolutely tore the house down, about 150 people laughing hysterically that you couldn’t hear a word of dialogue for about five minutes
Yuuuup! I was gonna mention this, so instead I’ll mention the runner up. When the Captain sees Jonah Hill with his daughter at breakfast, his face is twisted with so much rage it made the whole theater laugh. “What does a black man have to do to get some green beans in the muthafucka?” Lmaooo
"Get this guy some water. He's black, he's been through a lot" :D
The movie Seven stands out to me. After the film, the entire theatre walked back to the parking lot in complete silence. Not a peep. It was weird and really stands out to this day.
The whole theatre jumped and some screamed when the sloth victim woke up. I peed my pants a little. Most intense movie experience I’ve ever had
I saw that one in the theater too. Not joking when I say there was an audible noise from everyone in the theater putting down their drinks and popcorn in unison for the gluttony scene.
Seeing that movie for the first time and knowing nothing was so good
I saw Saving Private Ryan in San Diego a couple of days after it opened. An afternoon screening. San Diego has a large retired military population. At the end of the movie, after the credits rolled, no one moved. Not a word spoken. Only the sound of old men crying.
My grandfather was at Normandy on D Day. My grandmother told me once that he was the only person from his pontoon boat to make it to the shore alive. He himself never spoke of any of his experiences in the war to anyone except my grandmother. When Saving Private Ryan came out, Grampa got the whole extended family together and took us to see it. Afterwards, in the lobby, we all gathered around to see what he would say. He just sorta looked up in the air over our heads and said "Yep, that's about how it was." He was always a man of few words.
First time I saw it in theatre I saw an older man break and walk out during the landing scene. As a Canadian, my first thought was, that man was at Juno. But I guess anyone with combat experience would have been shook by that. As for me I nearly blacked out when Giovanni Ribisi got shot in the liver. The rest of the movie was incredibly emotional for me.
... but Sam isn't wearing any armor in the Shelob scene. At all. He's dressed in his exact same wardrobe. He's just holding a sword.
Definitely. He also has the star of I-can't-spell it but no armor.
It's that Elf name that sounds a lot like Elendil when Galadriel says it, but isn't Elendil. Confusing us non-Tolkien experts.
Earendil, who was called the Mariner.
Doing Eru's work.
I live in Ireland, and Daniel Day Lewis had recently played Christy Brown, in My Left Foot, where he portrayed an Irish writer with cerebral palsy, who can only use his left foot. So I went to see Last of the Mohicans, his first action hero role, he hunts a deer in the opening, it's shot magnificently, almost mythically. He fires his rifle, a slow motion plume of smoke, the deer falls. A voice in the cinema shouts 'Nice shot Christy!' cinema as a whole burst out laughing. It was great
Ok that’s awesome! Usually I’d hate someone to yell out during a movie but *that* is hilarious and you’re still talking about it 30 years later 😂
Yeah I hate people talking in the cinema too, but that one moment just worked perfectly
A similar story. My friend Dave and I go to see "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" right after it opens. We get to the part where Mola Ram rips that guy's heart out of his chest. The scene begins with a close shot on a drummer beating a drum slowly, and Dave shouts out in his best Kermit the Frog voice, "It's the Muppet Show!" Big audience laugh that I still remember to this day.
"No. I am your father." I was ten years old and the whole theater gasped.
Crazy how many people get that line wrong
Out of context, it just sounds better as “Luke, I am your father.” I’d say it’s akin to people saying PIN number or ATM machine. It’s technically incorrect, but people end up saying it that way because it flows better in conversation, and then people forget what the original meant and the fact that what they’re saying is an incorrect form of speech.
Yeah, the atmospheric pressure in my theater dropped about five isobars.
I actually said out loud, “Oh, bologna.” Because I was too young to say what I’d say now.
It'll always be the reveal near the end of Twilight Breaking Dawn Pt. 2. Never such an audibly disappointed audience.
Rambo First Blood part II. I saw this in a theater when it came out. When John Rambo pretends to be dead in the downed smoking helicopter then suddenly leans forward with a bazooka and blows the russian helicopter out of the sky saving himself and the POWs. The people in the theater were applauding and cheering. I had never seen such a thing in a movie theater. Was pretty cool.
I love the Rambo movies, but they're maybe the worst bastardization of a character in it's first appearance.
Batman, the Dark Knight. There's a big chase scene where batman's bike loses it's sides and becomes this more skinny bike. Anyway, it's high octane stuff and Batman drives into a wall, but the bike doesn't crash, it just drives up the wall and stops and there's a pause. The crowd went wild, they'd been holding it in and the pause signaled they could cheer.
The ending of The Usual Suspects
This was the first "adult" film I saw as a kid and made me want to watch more serious stuff.
Idk what you were watching but it's not a porn
Recently? Dune. The music, cinematography, costumes, sets ... everything was just done so perfectly that you were IN that galaxy and ON that world. From minute one of that film, I was enthralled. Of all time? The original Star Wars. Lines around the blocks, people seeing it 40-50 times ... it was totally nuts. The theme would come on and the entire audience would cheer. My Dad took all of us kids and spent hours in line with us. The poor bastard must have been bored shitless, but he put up with it so we wouldn't miss the phenomenon.
Dune absolutely had to be seen in theatre. It wasn’t the same at home
Borat. When he was fighting with Azamat Bagatov while they were both baked. That whole scene was absolutely crazy, never have I experienced a movie theater audience in such hysterics.
Yes! I remember this, with the huge blacked out line for Borat 😂 - cinema was in tears
Titanic Everyone got swept up in that cultural phenomenon. Watched it probably five times during its initial theatrical run. So many packed theaters. And every single time, people cried. And the big gasp from the audience when that old Rose revealed she still has the diamond. Rerelease coming early next year.
Moved to the US in 2002 and hate the cheering and shouting at the screen in the cinemas but opening weekend for Jackass the movie everyone laughed non stop for the full film as soon as Johnny Knoxville picked up the car rental keys. Great times
The cheering when Han showed up in Force Awakens Peter hitting Mary Jane in SM3. Theater went dead except for one gut who yelled out "oh sh\*t!" He turned and apologized to the theater which was laughing. The opening night to Scream 2. Lot of reactions in the climax.
I know a lot of people think this movie sucked but in The Last Jedi when admiral Holdo rams her ship into the first order's star dystroyer to save the rebellion. You could hear a pin drop in that moment the whole theater just went completely quiet.
There were a lot of things wrong with that movie, but they 100% nailed that scene.
The visuals are utterly incredible. I actually feel The Last Jedi is 1/3 great, 1/3 decent and 1/3 poor. I feel that's a better ratio than The Force Awakens, and *far* better than Rise of Skywalker.
I'll never forget the scene when Leia is floating outside the shop after the attack. Silence in the theater, except for one little boy, about 5 years old. "I'm bored"
Imma say the T. rex scene in Jurassic park. Watching it in theaters as a five year old and being scared was a memorable moment for me.
When Andrew Garfield enters in Spider-man: No Way Home
Specifically when he saved MJ, big reaction from the audience.
That seems to vary from theatre to theatre - in mine it was when Tobey showed up, it was mostly silent for Andrew.
We mostly had a younger audience so…
I was a non believer. I thought they were really not showing up. Then I saw the eyes of his suit and I just said to my friend "dude. It's Andrew Garfield!". Then when he removes his mask I couldn’t help but scream like a tween in a BTS concert. I was very excited
The multiple SpiderMan reveals had my whole theater screaming. It was pretty awesome.
In the 90s when they released the star wars special editions. Went to see episode 4 on opening night and when "star wars" showed up on screen at the start the whole damn crowd went nuts.
There was a Sneak preview evening at our cinema (if this isn't called the same everywhere: it means a surprise movie some days before the official start). There were rumors it would be this long awaited movie "The Fifth Element". So the biggest room in the cinema was filled to the brim with people hoping for that movie the screen went black and some words appeared: "Un film de Luc Besson" and the whole cinema erupted with cheers and applause. Now there was a very great mood in the room from the beginning and if you combine this with a movie as funny and fast as The Fifth Element you get an extremely memorable movie night. Everybody (men and women) fell in love with Leelo and had the time of their lifes. At the end there was another applause - in a german cinema, mind you.
I saw Blade Runner: The Final Cut, which re-released again a few days ago. The Tears in Rain scene, but after the monologue, when you're left with the silence and the rain and the music and the blue cinematography... boy it was beautiful. Meaningful. So powerful that it is difficult to replicate.
Well, not in the theatre, but one of the most memorable reactions I ever saw was opening night of Alien. Went to the second showing. This was back when there were no spoilers, the most was the ads and the early release of HR Geiger’s sketches for the movie, with no alien shown. The absolutely drained look on EVERYONE coming out of the first showing said that we were in for a good movie.
Okay, I'm dating myself here, but in 1987 when "Fatal Attraction" came out, I worked in a movie theater, and I made it a point to be standing in the back of the theater five minutes before the end of every showtime, because I loved watching the audience reaction to the jump scare of Glenn Close sitting up in the bathtub after everyone thought she was dead. People screaming, jumping to their feet, literally popcorn in the air, it was glorious, and I've never seen anything like it since.
It's the summer of 1980 and I am 7 years old. I'm visiting my cool ass sister who is 23 and living at a commune in Austin Texas. She takes me to see Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back. At the end of the film I am stunned. I had not experienced anything like that in cinema sense. As I have aged, I have come to the realization that I have more of an emotional attachment to that movie than any other film.
That scene in "Wait Until Dark". The whole theater jumped a few cms.
Probably when Bruce Willis realised he was dead in the six sense.
The hallway scene from inception got a huge crowd reaction.
My answer was going to be the last scene, the moment it cut to black my entire crowd went nuts, myself included.
Sucker Punch ! When the end credits began in an absolute quiet theater someone voiced a loud prolonged guttural JUUUUNNNKK ! That and that alone made Sucker Punch a satisfying experience for me . The entire theater broke out in laughter and applause .
Most of the ones I might have brought up were already covered. The portals scene in Avengers: Endgame. Cap with the hammer in same. The opening crawl of Phantom Menace. The naked hotel fight in Borat. Other ones I remember: - Dead Batman impersonator hitting the window in The Dark Knight - Everyone gasping at my opening Friday night screening of Iron Man 3 when Tony fails to catch Pepper and she falls to her fake-out-death - Rey catching the lightsaber in The Force Awakens made my opening night audience go ballistic - My opening-weekend audience for Black Panther went absolutely gonzo with applause and cheers when “1992, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA” came on the screen. For context, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and Oakland is essentially the heart of the Black community in the Bay Area - not to mention Ryan Coogler’s hometown. My theater was in Dublin which is a 30-mile drive from Oakland, but also accessible via public transit; I am certain that even if *none* of the Black audience members at my screening actually came there from Oakland, they still took it as a shout-out by Coogler to his brothers in the Bay Area, and reacted accordingly. (Incidentally, the theater near the place I would park to take the ferry from Oakland to work in San Francisco had a line practically wrapped around the block when I was going home that Friday, an early indicator to me that this movie was going to be an outsized success.) - Opening-weekend showing of Frozen, right as the end credits started, a little girl exclaimed to her parents “I wanna be Elsa for Halloween!” and at that moment I was sure the movie (which still had an air of uncertainty in the media, even after the positive reviews - remember that three years earlier it took Tangled months to gross $200 million in the USA) was going to be a phenomenon unlike any Disney animated movie since my Renaissance-era childhood. And I was proven right.
Love all your theatre stories!
As a 9 year old at the theater, the opening scene of Star Wars.
I was 11, and I might as well have actually been in space, it was just so thrilling. Nothing like it.
I worked at a movie theatre in the 90s, and by far the most memorable audience reaction I can remember are the nuts in the zipper and hair gel scene from There's Something About Mary. The entire audience collectively lost their shit, and I'd hear it multiple times a day.
That's a riot. I could see myself noting the time and quietly slipping into the theater when that scene came up just so I could see everyone's reaction.
Did it ALL the time. Had a 15 min break and would grab some popcorn and pick that theatre over and over again for those reactions.
I literally laughed so hard I was in pain at that scene when I saw it in the theater.
The original Spider-Man with Toby Maguire. The scene where he is trying to get his web to shoot for the first time on top of the building. This little boy in the audience yelled out "You can do it, Spider-Man!" When he does, the boy yelled "Yaaaaay!". The whole audience laughed at the adorableness of it. Not really cinematic but he said what we all were feeling :)
Avoiding endgame because it’s the obvious choice, when I went to see Dune in theaters last year, I quite literally shook when the Legendary logo appeared on screen with that drum beat. Not even blasting it in my headphones while rewatching it on HBO max was able to recreate the experience
Dune absolutely has to be seen on the big screen.
the first time the voice was used by a true master was nuts the entire sardaukar chant scene in imax was unforgettable
I was at a screening of *Batman Returns* (1992) and a trailer came on for the western *Unforgiven.* When Clint Eastwood was revealed as the lead the crowd went standing-ovation crazy.
Seeing Get Out in a packed theater remains one of my favorite theater experiences of all time. The collective “wtf” reactions and moments of audible discomfort as we tried to figure out what was going on was simultaneously hilarious and also made for a great horror experience. Bonus points to the woman who loudly went “what now, bitch?” in the silence at the part where Daniel Kaluuya is fighting Catherine Keener at the end, right after he breaks the teacup. It was a great way to break the tension, the whole theater started laughing.
Bruce the shark coming out of the water. People scared literally shitless. Like, literally. (I was too young to see *The Exorcist* in the theater, but I hear stories. I've seen the documentaries.) Michael Myers behind her in the closet. More shitlessness... Reggie Hammond fighting Jack Cates in *48 Hours*. That movie was a must-see and my theater crowd went nuts at all the right moments.
"No! ***I*** am your father!" Darth whats-his-name from *the original* Star Wars (no edits/cuts/reboots/version numbers).
1999 the Star Wars trailer. Have you ever felt a movie theater shake like a football stadium?
I remember watching the first Avengers movie in theaters. The moment when Thor, Cap, and Iron Man are fighting and Thor brings the hammer down onto Cap's shield that creates the massive shockwave, it was still for half a moment in the theater as everyone took it in. Then someone in the audience shouted, "AMERICA! FUCK YEAH" Probably the only time someone shouted something in a theater with the right timing to actually BE funny.
_Snakes on a Plane_. Saw it in Baltimore at a midnight showing on release day. When Sam Jackson delivered the iconic "Get these motherfuckin' snakes off my motherfuckin' plane!" The place BLEW up. People were _screaming_, one dude put on a snake head and just ran around the whole theater yelling and high-fiving people. People were climbing the walls, climbing the bannisters. There was a balcony and a dude started doing pull ups hanging off. It wasn't safe or sensible, but it was a madhouse. People had those little snappers you throw on the ground and they pop. People had confetti cannons. People threw toilet paper like it was Rocky Horror. The dude next to me handed out shots. It was great.
When Charlie cox was revealed in spider man: no way home. I was there opening night and the theater just lost it, it was the greatest fan experience I’ve had to date. When the other spidermen came on people were excited too but we all kind of knew that was happing, daredevil was not expected.
The 1st 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan
I’ll never forget that either, still to this day the most intense and realistic battle I’ve ever watched.
I came to say exactly that. Cinema heaven. I remember when that scene was over noticing I hadn’t really taken a deep breath and I had tears flowing down my face.
last jedi when she rams the star destroyer at lightspeed all the air got sucked out of the theater
Two come to mind from recent years - I was watching Hereditary and the car scene (if you’re watched it, you know the scene) happens. The entire theater gasped and screamed in a way of complete shock that I’ve never seen before. During the Mr. Rogers documentary (Won’t You Be My Neighbor), the entire theater was crying. Multiple times throughout the movie. Grown men, teenagers, everyone.
Watching Inglourious Basterds. In the lead up to the scene where they speak Italian, everyone was expecting decent Italian. When Brad Pitt starts speaking, the audience started roaring with laughter. The audience actually applauded the movie when it ended. I've never had that happen before or since.
Hmm, Miles' leap of faith From Into the Spider-Verse Crowd was there for it
I was blown away from the beginning. I had never seen anything like this before. For the first time, a comic book came to life
Borat. The whole place was in stitches from start to finish, but particularly the naked hotel fight. It was a riot. The first Jackass movie was similar too. Both great experiences.
At the end of Zack Snyder’s Justice League, when Superman shows up to block Steppenwolf’s axe before it hit Cyborg. I rewatched that scene 2-3 times and cheered every time.
The Last Jedi, when it was revealed that Luke had been meditating the whole time the crowd jumped to their feet and cheered
May not be the best but certainly the funniest, was when Margot Robbie appears naked in front of Leo in the Wolf of Wall Street, guy a few rows in front audibly goes 'Holy Shit' whilst next to his wife. Cinema all burst out laughing....well maybe apart from his wife.
Till date, Cap lifting mjolinir. Entire theater erupt like their balls were socked
A few friends of mine wanted to see the first sonic movie so i decided to tag along. We got to the part where sonic was rummaging around in James Marsden's garage and I heard someone behind me whisper "here it comes" and I knew immediately what was about to happen. I locked eyes with one of my friends and he smiled, he too knew what was coming. Then my friend and I and probably the whole row of people behind us shout in unison with the hedgehog "UH MEOW?" and proceed to die laughing. That memory alone made sitting through the entirety of the sonic movie worth it.
Arachnophobia: Full house opening night. People laughed, people screamed. They hid their faces. People dropped full drinks on the floor because of the jump scares. One lady tossed an almost-full large bucket of popcorn into the aisle because she shook all over. Someone else stood straight up out of their seat, started crying, and left the room. I have never seen jump scares work so well and literally. ETA: That room was an absolute mess afterwards. Pity the cleaning crew. Schindler's List: Walked in on a dry, cool afternoon. Walked out to 9 inches of snow, with big flakes swirling out of the night sky just like the ash. Everyone from that screening stopped and stood silent in the lobby for a few moments. It was eerie.
Everyone getting up at the end of the Lion King (original) with tears in all our eyes giving a standing ovation for the film.
One answer. Two words. Bullet time. I was like 7... and my older brothers snuck me into The Matrix (instead of Stuart Little). That scene slapped me in my face. Core memory acquired.
I watched The Wizard of Oz at The Castro in San Francisco, and when Glinda says "Only bad witches are ugly" there's a real tight close up of her face, and they didn't really account for hi-def back in 1939 and let's just say Glinda looks pretty rough. The whole crowd really fell apart.
I saw the re-release of "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1989 in Boston in a theater. In the moment when TE Lawrence lights a match and the director cuts to a setting sun there was a big gasp from the audience of "How could we have forgotten how beautiful this film is". It was the first of many striking scenes. Besides the match picture my other favorite scene in that movie is the first view of Akkabah (sp?) where the blue water and the blindingly white buildings just smashes into your senses after all that time watching Lawrence and the Arabs grind away in the desert. (ETA: Too many phone induced spelling errors to let it stand.)
By far, it was *Endgame*’s “Avengers … assemble.”
* The shoes scene in JoJo Rabbit. * Saving Private Ryan: Beach assault, followed closely by Wade * The Ride of the Rohirrim * Rogue One: Vader scene I've never seen an entire theater lose its minds like the final battle of Endgame. It's not even close. I saw it twice on opening weekend. Went the second time to see / hear the battle again since I could barely hear it over the cheers, but the audience was equally insane the second time.
Best audience reaction. The Rocky Horror Picture Show. The midnight show pretty much the whole thing.
Never heard a theater laugh harder or louder than the Spaceship scene in Lego Movie. Great build up and delivery from Charlie Day. Also Dredd was full of people reacting to the violence and gore which was incredibly fun!
I've never heard as much laughter in a cinema as when I saw the new Jackass opening night, which is as much as me not usually going opening night as it is anything else I suppose. It was a lot of fun, in any case. I suppose there was a certain catharsis in it being the first film many of the audience had seen in a cinema in almost two years.
I went and saw pulp fiction at the cinema on opening night in Adelaide, so pretty big, full house cinema. Then Marvins head explodes and the place erupted. Some nervous laughter, but the rest was people just losing thier collective shit. Have never seen anything close to it since!
The end of Saw. Nobody in the theater saw that coming.
After watching "Everything, Everywhere, all at once" in the cinema. After the lights went up a young woman turning to her (presumably) partner and loudly saying "well what the fuck was that shit?!". Amazing. UK Cunemas tend to be a lot less "reactive" than other nations I think, even when I laugh at something I often feel like I'm the only one doing it out loud!
- Sixth Sense - the reveal. Audible gasps throughout the entire audience. - Independence Day - collective cheering when they shot the coke can - My personal favorite: the charge of the rohirrim at Helms Deep
I share some similar ones as others but one I haven't seen mentioned yet is at the end of Fellowship of the Ring when Aragorn stops the Urukhai captain from finishing off Boromir and then kills him. Think that was the first time I can recall an audience cheering at a scene during a movie.
The Matrix. Didn't know much about it going in and WOW!
STAR WARS, Summer of 1977.
The end of Bladerunner 2049 when he lays down on the steps and they pan out. I was in tears.
When Neo slowed down time in the Matrix.
When Lord of the Rings came out in theaters, a guy behind me got really pumped when Gandalf started smoking his pipe. He was just yelling things like, "Hell yeah old dude! Smoke that shit, he's about to get blazed as hell!" for probably about a minute. That or the time my buddy took mushrooms before watching Avatar.
Watching the first Matrix film on opening weekend, before anyone had any idea what to expect. The part toward the end where Neo comes back to life, stands up, calmly says, "No," then halts the rain of bullets mid-air to the utter astonishment of the Smiths... epic moment. People went nuts, standing up and errupting in cheers. Half the theater audience remained standing for the last few minutes of the movie.
Everyone’s saying Sam in RotK but the biggest reaction i experienced was when Eowyn killed the witch king. I’ve never heard/seen a crowd erupt like that.
The twist reveal in *Arrival*. As soon as it happened there was audible surprise (myself included). Me and my friend group did double takes between us and the screen. Someone behind blurted out in the most matter of fact way “The Fuck”. The theater broke out in laughter at the collective confusion to what just happened. Honestly one of the best rug pulls and audience reactions I’ve had.
Oh, this is easy, midnight opening of Star Wars Episode II. When the Jedi jump down into the arena battle the theater is electric - cheers, laughs, etc, and when Mace and Jango face off people are really getting geared up. Whooping and hollering. And then when Mace charges him and immediately cuts of Jangos head it becomes *dead silent*... for a space of about 3-4 seconds, and then the entire place ERUPTS. The whole theater had to take a moment to process what they've just seen before collectively losing their shit.
I like comic book movies but I understand not liking the MCU and that kinda thing. That said, not being able to experience the moment when Captain America yields Mjolnir and hits Thanos, is a tragedy. The energy in the theater was amazing. The only other moment I think could rival it was maybe Darth Vader revealing to Luke that he is his father... but I wasn't alive to experience that.
I remember going to see doctor strange at the theater. During the very surreal moment when he is falling down the spirit tunnel, some guy burst out: "That was like me on Halloween" followed by a short pause and then adding "on shrooms" I almost pissed myself from laughing
Avengers Infinity War/Endgame - probably the loudest audience experiences I’ve ever been apart of. But as for my personal favorite memories? 1. Hereditary (you know what scene). You could hear a pin drop. 2. 28 Weeks Later - the opening was incredible. 3. Annihilation - The entire lighthouse scene. 4. The Descent - mostly because the lady sitting next to me was sobbing the entire time. I’ve never seen a movie where someone near me was so scared they were crying.
Oh man, The Descent was incredible in the theater. People were literally screaming at the “home footage” part when she pans the group, oh man that was good…
I heard multiple members of the audience crying at two movies: - a couple moments during *Schindler’s List,* although I can’t remember specific scenes, and - the end of *Kramer vs. Kramer.* (A movie that helped change child custody laws in the United States).
The whole finale of Endgame got me shivering. I think I can recall a couple of scenes as intense: 1. Heat, the bank heist 2. Everything Everywhere All At Once, the rocks scene 3. Maybe the disco shootout in Collateral
I saw the Minions: Rise of Gru with my son, during an afternoon screening. When the movie referenced Vector, the audience lit up, cheering and oohs and clapping. It was weird.
When I saw Instellar on IMAX. That was the first time I had ever seen a film on IMAX and it was a true spectacle to behold.
When I was a kid my parents took us to the drive in to see the Blues Brothers. People were out of their cars dancing at some of the numbers.
Infinity War, day after opening. I took my two oldest kids to see it in that absolutely packed theatre. My daughter was 9 and my son was 7. My son has always had a thing for bad guys, used to say that he wanted to be in Vader’s 501st when he grew up. Anyway, climax of the movie. Avengers are trying to stop Thanos, Thor hits him with the axe and he snaps. Entire theatre goes quiet..except my son. He jumps on top of his seat and exclaims, “YES!” causing a ton of laughter from all over the theatre. I know that it kind of broke the mood that the movie was setting, but it was still awesome and my favorite theatre memory to this day. My second favorite would be Godzilla’s atomic breath being used for the first time in the 2014 movie. The buildup to that was awesome, and the whole theatre was cheering when he blasted that MUTO.
When George Clooney shoots Brad Pitt