I saw three films in three theaters during Thanksgiving break. They were Thelma, Ladybird and Justice League. It was Saturday I saw Thelma at the Village East Cinema in Manhattan which is a theater that caters to limited release features. As a MoviePass subscriber, I pay $10.99 a month and I can watch one movie a day, but the actual ticket price was $8. I didn’t buy a drink this time because the concession stand was empty. The theater was small, around 40 seats, fold-up when you stand up, and a total of 11 patrons total including me. Most were single viewers; 3 college aged, 1 older woman, 1 older man, and a father-daughter couple. They were quiet during the show, but there was small discussion of what the film was about afterward.

The second film was Ladybird at Kew Gardens Cinemas in Queens. It skews more toward limited release as well and one of the few places in Queens to see smaller films, but there are also wide release features as well. The actual ticket price was $8 and I bought a $4 soda. The theater is around 100 seats and was at 70% capacity so very full. Older people mostly with some couples. The seats are fold-up, packed and there is only one aisle. The audience laughed at the appropriate times, but toward the end a guy started asking what was going on. That got a lot of shushes and shut ups. After it was over, I overheard the old ladies in the row in front say they didn’t like it. One fell asleep and another couldn’t believe how mean the mother was.

In contrast to these theaters, AMC Bay Terrace shows wide release and has recliner seats. The cost of a ticket would be $14.30 and a large soda was $5.60. There are exactly 92 seats, 103 counting reserved handicap seats. Despite that, there was probably under 30 people, some single, couples and a family with young children. They were mostly quiet. I did see the bright screens of a smartphone from a number of patrons. Since this is a definition popcorn flick, there was popcorn on the floor.