Somerville Theatre bans (young) kids from entering after 6 pm. Let's discuss it here

[ron_newman]

This week's Somerville News has an article about the Somerville Theatre's policy of banning children under 12 8* from entering the theatre after 6 pm, even if they are accompanied by adults.

Is the theatre's policy a service to its customers who want a peaceful movie experience, or is it unfair discrimination against families with young children?

I'm posting this because we can have a more civilized discussion here than on the Somerville News blog comments. Ian Judge, the theatre's manager, reads this community, so we may be able to provide useful feedback to him here.

* Edited 11:55 am to add: I have a serious factual issue with this article. It says the policy applies to children under 12, but the theatre's website and exterior signs say it's for children under 8. That's a significant difference -- maybe significant enough to change people's opinions.

Second edit, 3 pm: Ian Judge has clarified that the theatre's policy is to exclude children under 8, not 12, from entering after 6 pm. He had made an erroneous statement to the News reporter which very unfortunately made it into the published article. Also, here is Ian's response to the specific incident detailed in the News article.

Comments

[ron_newman]

I think the studios have a policy that excludes the same movies from opening at both Fresh Pond and Somerville, but sometimes they allow the same movie at both Harvard Square and Somerville.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

I think it depends on the deal they strike with both theaters. Generally, there's an agreement that they won't open the same movie in a theater within a preset distance, which depends on population density. But that can go out the window in the case of something like "The Dark Knight" or other very wide openings.

It's worth noting that the Somerville often gets major Hollywood releases as a second run. I think the Fresh Pond is a mix of first and second run. Honestly, I'm surprised they haven't become a dollar theater by now.