Wicked viewers have ignited debate by taking photos during movie screenings, leading some film fans to feel that such actions are defying decorum.
Over the course of Wicked’s record-setting opening weekend at the box office, devotees of the Broadway musical adaptation shared images of the screen to social media, spurred in part by a viral X (formerly Twitter) post from an Ariana Grande fan account that read, “Show ur ‘Wicked part 1’ photos.” Although the post led to a lot of users sharing their own pics of the action, plenty of responses were of the “Kick these people out of the theater” variety.
“Any cell phone is distracting in a darkened theater, of course — even people trying to hide it,” Jason E. Squire, USC School of Cinematic Arts professor emeritus and host of podcast The Movie Business, tells The Hollywood Reporter. “It’s just intolerable behavior and should not be allowed in theaters that show any movie.”
Premium theater chain Alamo Drafthouse, known for encouraging patrons to notify staff of any disruptive behavior or phone use, responded to the viral photo-callout post with, “Or, don’t do that.” The chain emphasizes to THR that they work with influencers to help provide awareness of screenings, but that any opportunities to share images from the theatrical experience would be offered before the movie begins.
Cynthia Erivo (left) and Ariana Grande in Wicked.
Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
“We absolutely feel strongly about no phone usage once the movie starts,” says Alamo Drafthouse chief marketing office Chaya Rosenthal. “You’ve got a lot of influencers who want that self-expression and sharing their experience with their social community. So we embrace that but do it in a very different way, where we want people to specifically take those photos before the film starts and enjoy that experience in our lobbies.”
Starring Grande as Glinda and Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba in the story of The Wizard of Oz’s characters prior to Dorothy’s arrival, the Wicked movie got off to a magical start in its box office run, making history with the best opening weekend for a Broadway musical adaptation. Previously, the 2024 summer box office was down 10 percent from the year prior, suggesting that the impact from the recent Hollywood strikes was not as devastating as it could have been. That said, clearly the industry can benefit from the support of young and social media-savvy audience members.
Some exhibitors have opted not to rely on the ephemeral trends dictated by social media. The Art Theatre, a single-screen house in Long Beach, California, has pivoted post-pandemic to playing second-run titles for roughly six months after the Academy Awards ceremony, although the theater will still screen new titles through the rest of this year. Notably, the venue has no plans to show Wicked or Gladiator II, instead opting to play Conclave, Maria and Queer in the coming weeks.
“For every single movie, a manager does an old-time walk-through from the front of the screen to the back, just to combat if that behavior would ever exist,” says Kerstin Kansteiner, head of the board for the nonprofit theater. “We have seen it a couple times, but it’s fairly rare.”
Universal did not respond to requests for comment on the topic, but Rosenthal says that studios have generally been aligned with Alamo’s policy of staunchly discouraging phone use. Granted, studios have come to embrace platforms like TikTok for spreading the word about a movie, but the companies would want any video to be taken before a screening or in the lobby afterward.
Even the concept of singing along to a theatrical musical has proven polarizing. Ahead of Wicked’s release, AMC Theatres issued a statement asking theatergoers to not only avoid phone use but also not sing along with a screening, and some chains, including Alamo Drafthouse, have set up separate sing-along events to accommodate enthusiastic viewers.
John Bucher — executive director of the Joseph Campbell Foundation who has served as story consultant for projects released by Paramount, HBO and A24 — notes that our society has gradually been moving toward satisfying the needs of the individual over those of the group, due to the advent of such technologies as the smartphone.
“Rudeness and civility have slowly been making their way to the bottom of our values list for a long time,” Bucher says. “Encouraging people to snap pictures of the screen during a movie says something to those around us. It says that the invisible community, who isn’t here with me, is more important than the community that is here with me.”