People talking, using mobile phones and kids making too much noise have topped a poll of things British cinema-goers find most irritating when settling down to watch the latest must-see release.
We asked 1,982 British adults to nominate up to three things they find most annoying when they go to the cinema from a list of ten irritating habits.
- 54% said ‘talking’, which came top
- 52% didn’t like others using mobile phones
- 48% found noisy children one of the three things that annoys them the most
- These were closely followed by 47% who couldn’t stand people kicking the seats in front
- Food and drink came next on the list, with 36% hating the ‘rustling of crisp or sweet packets’ and 11% disliking it when people ‘slurp’ their drinks
- 11% said ‘eating’ overall was pretty annoying
- While 7% confessed to being irritated when people arrive late
- 4% thought people indulging in hobbies, such as knitting, was annoying
- And just 1% thought it was annoying when people take their shoes off
Film frustrations
Our annoying habits list was helpfully drawn up for us by film critics Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo (pictured) on their Film Review show for BBC Radio Five Live. Dubbed ‘the Wittertainment code of conduct’, it specifies ten things that are definitely not OK when frequenting a film.
And it seems many agree, as while many things are deemed irritating enough to warrant a mention, our data suggests that the biggest problem for British cinema-goers is just plain noise. Don’t even think about talking.
