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

[ellf.livejournal.com]

I have never worked at a movie theater, and you may be right - the ban may be for the benefit of the staff. If that is the case, I would suggest that it may be contrary to the other goal of maximizing ticket sales.

[maelithil.livejournal.com]

But it's their policy. If an entirely hypothetical drop in ticket sales bothers the management then the management will correct the issue when - and if - that happens. They're not morons, they're clearly picturing this policy as being good for their business.

[thetathx1138.livejournal.com]

Depends on how much time they have to spend dealing with obnoxious patrons. I suspect this was put into place both because of staff experience and customer complaints. I know I went up and lodged a couple a year or so back, when I saw "The Bourne Ultimatum" and some jerk brought what felt like the entire seventh grade from the local juvenile detention center.