Watch CBS News

Soon You'll Be Able To Use Your Cellphone In Movie Theaters

UPDATE: (7:00 a.m. 4/15/16) - AMC Theaters sent out a tweet early Friday morning advising all customers that they are backing out of their idea to allow cellphones and texting in theaters.


LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) - AMC Theaters reportedly wants to allow people to text and use their phones during movies.

In an interview with Variety, Adam Aron, the head of AMC Entertainment, says that he is open to the idea of making some theaters texting and mobile device-friendly.

It's all part of a plan, according to Aron, to start targeting younger and smartphone savvy consumers.

When talking about targeting millennials and the use of cellphones in theaters, Aron told Variety, "When you tell a 22-year-old to turn off the phone, don't ruin the movie, they hear 'please cut off your left arm above the elbow'. You can't tell a 22-year-old to turn off their cellphone. That's not how they live their life.

"At the same time, though, we're going to have to figure out a way to do it that doesn't disturb today's audiences," he continued. "There's a reason there are ads up there saying turn off your phone, because today's moviegoer doesn't want somebody sitting next to them texting or having their phone on."

Aron continued to add that they might also test the possibility of having a certain section in the theaters for texting, or they could even make new  auditoriums specifically geared toward texting-friendly audiences.

Regal Entertainment CEO Amy Miles played around with this idea back in 2012, but skepticism reportedly forced the group to back out of the idea.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.