Thank you Ron for posting this, and to everyone for posting their thoughts.
I think this article is the direct result of me not letting the specific kids mentioned in the article into the movie.
And the reason I didn't let these kids in is because all in the same evening: they REPEATEDLY tried to go to the R-Rated movie on their own in a sneaky manner; after being denied entry for being underage and unaccompanied initially, they came back later and tried to have a cop bring them in, whom they claimed was their dad, but who was not going to watch the movie with them but assured me "he was on duty in the square". This is not parental/guardian supervision. Then, after I denied them entry, they tried to get random dudes to buy them tickets, and when we said that wouldn't fly, they acted like jackasses, screamed "this theater sucks!" and "we're never coming here again" to which I responded, as I am often inclined to do so, "I hope that is a promise if you're going to act like that".
These kids weren't even effected by the policy, since they were over 12. They were however, effected by the ratings guidelines almost ALL movie theaters go by, namely that R-Rated films must have a parent or guardian. Random dudes and parents off-site do not count. This was the 10:15pm Pineapple Express on a Tuesday night. Throw in the fact that they acted deceptively and like jerks, and voila, you don't get in.
I understand that for some people, perhaps they disagree with the policy. That is fine, as these people can go to Revere or Boston Common or Fresh Pond and have all the kids they want in the theater. I personally don't want to see small kids in the movies at night, so that is how I run my theater. The beauty of a competitive marketplace is that the consumer can choose. I think this policy reflects the desires of the majority of our customer base, so it does not hurt the theater, in fact I think it helps us. I have heard overwhelmingly positive things about the policy from our customers.
Obviously, and as I said to the paper (though it was not mentioned) if we have a rare children-oriented movie at night, like when we ran "The WIzard of Oz", we would allow kids in, but this happens so rarely it is truly an exception.
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I think this article is the direct result of me not letting the specific kids mentioned in the article into the movie.
And the reason I didn't let these kids in is because all in the same evening: they REPEATEDLY tried to go to the R-Rated movie on their own in a sneaky manner; after being denied entry for being underage and unaccompanied initially, they came back later and tried to have a cop bring them in, whom they claimed was their dad, but who was not going to watch the movie with them but assured me "he was on duty in the square". This is not parental/guardian supervision. Then, after I denied them entry, they tried to get random dudes to buy them tickets, and when we said that wouldn't fly, they acted like jackasses, screamed "this theater sucks!" and "we're never coming here again" to which I responded, as I am often inclined to do so, "I hope that is a promise if you're going to act like that".
These kids weren't even effected by the policy, since they were over 12. They were however, effected by the ratings guidelines almost ALL movie theaters go by, namely that R-Rated films must have a parent or guardian. Random dudes and parents off-site do not count. This was the 10:15pm Pineapple Express on a Tuesday night. Throw in the fact that they acted deceptively and like jerks, and voila, you don't get in.
I understand that for some people, perhaps they disagree with the policy. That is fine, as these people can go to Revere or Boston Common or Fresh Pond and have all the kids they want in the theater. I personally don't want to see small kids in the movies at night, so that is how I run my theater. The beauty of a competitive marketplace is that the consumer can choose. I think this policy reflects the desires of the majority of our customer base, so it does not hurt the theater, in fact I think it helps us. I have heard overwhelmingly positive things about the policy from our customers.
Obviously, and as I said to the paper (though it was not mentioned) if we have a rare children-oriented movie at night, like when we ran "The WIzard of Oz", we would allow kids in, but this happens so rarely it is truly an exception.