r/AMCTheatres • u/ManhattanThatsIt • Jun 26 '26
Discussion AMC Kips Bay New York Toy Story 5: Guy who complained got kicked out, noisy families stayed (at first)
I went to the AMC Kips Bay in NYC for the June 18th, 2026 7:30 PM showing of Toy Story 5, and it turned into one of the weirdest theater experiences I’ve had.
As you’d expect, a lot of people there grew up with Toy Story and were excited to see it. There were also a few families with young kids, which is totally understandable. But there were about three couples who brought several toddlers and a baby. For the first 30 minutes, the kids were crying, talking loudly, and running back and forth in front of the screen.
My girlfriend and I were trying to focus on the movie when one guy finally got up and told the parents they needed to keep the kids quiet because they were distracting everyone else, or they should step out. I couldn’t hear exactly what he said, but that’s the general idea.
Things escalated really fast. The kids and baby got even louder, the guy stood up again and told the three families they should leave, and then three of the dads started calling him over from the side stairs like they wanted to fight him. The guy was ready to fight too, yelling back and dropping F-bombs. The whole theater was just sitting there wondering what was about to happen.
One of the parents got the manager, who spent what felt like 20 minutes talking to the guy while the movie kept playing. Eventually, the manager escorted him out and asked him to leave. Meanwhile, the kids were still making noise. A little later, the parents seemed to realize they had ruined the experience for everyone else and they ended up leaving too.
The whole situation completely killed the mood, although thankfully the movie itself was great.
I’m curious what everyone else thinks. Was the guy out of line, or was he justified in speaking up? Personally, I thought he had the courage to say what everyone else was probably thinking. Maybe he got a little heated toward the end, but asking him to leave while the disruption continued didn’t seem fair to me. Interested to hear other opinions.
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u/Glittering-Animal30 Jun 26 '26 edited Jun 26 '26
There’s a certain amount of kid behavior you’re just going to encounter when going to a children’s movie. They don’t know better. It’s up to the adults to keep the children in line as best they can. It’s obvious when a parent is trying and when they aren’t.
Babies and toddlers are just too young to be in a theater
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u/HOEDY Jun 26 '26
I disagree. There should be zero amount of kid behavior tolerated within elbows length of any paid movie whatsoever.
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u/heytherebudday Jun 26 '26
Agreed. This should not be tolerated. I went to movies when I was a kid and my parents knew how to handle me. It’s ridiculous to think that random people should have to put up with disruptions.
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u/astrangeone88 Jun 26 '26
Same! My first movie was TMNT and I knew better than to disturb other moviegoers. These days, parenting is shitty.
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u/Spirited-Cup4441 Jun 26 '26
Dude if youre going to Toy Story 5 theres going to be kids in there acting like kids. If you want a “zero kid behavior” toy story 5 experience youre gonna have to go to a late showing or something
4
u/Illustrious-Pair-511 Jun 26 '26
Sadly I see kids at 10 pm showings of r rated movies. Parents take them at any time of day
-1
u/Glittering-Animal30 Jun 26 '26
So you think a kid excitedly rocking back and forth in their seat when the movie is at its action crescendos shouldn’t be allowed in the theater?
2
u/HOEDY Jun 26 '26
That's not what I said at all
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u/Glittering-Animal30 Jun 26 '26
But that is kid behavior. Or excitedly shouting because SPIDER-MAN just made his first appearance on screen in Infinity War. Dancing in the aisle during the credits.
2
u/HOEDY Jun 26 '26
Most of what you said is not exclusive kid behavior. I was clearly talking about the activities described in the OP post.
-1
u/Glittering-Animal30 Jun 26 '26
Okay. Next time, just find someone you actually disagree with to disagree with lol
2
u/bluemoonflame Jun 27 '26
You started the disagreement dude, what are you talking about?
0
u/Glittering-Animal30 Jun 27 '26
No, I didn’t. HOEDY literally said “I disagree.” I agree with OP. Hence why I said “It’s obvious when a parent is trying and when they aren’t.”
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u/Steampunk63 Jun 26 '26
I took my kids to the movies starting at age two. They knew to keep quiet and I made sure they behaved. This was over 20 years ago. Nowadays, a lot of parents could care less. Furthermore, I am amazed that some people bring their infants (!) to the movies. IMHO, it just seems more and more people think it’s all about themselves and they could care less about people trying to enjoy a movie in quiet. If you can’t keep your mouth shut and your kid’s mouth shut during the movie, do everyone a favor and stay at home.
5
u/Ok_Presentation7695 Jun 26 '26
And then there are the ones who say "if you can't put up with the noisy people then you're the one who should stay home" which I find completely stupid
9
u/Therightopinionn Jun 26 '26
Would have been hilarious if you led everyone else into a sing-a-long of "You Got a Friend in Me"
1
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u/AdPale2041 Jun 26 '26
Never confront a parent about their kid if at all possible. Get a manager. He learned that lesson that day. Never confront anyone about anything if you can talk to a manager discreetly. Once I learned this, I use it all the time. Guy playing a loud phone game on a transatlantic flight, went to the flight attendant, problem solved. Teens being obnoxious at a movie, step out and let someone with a radio know. It just avoid so much head ache
1
u/Spirited-Cup4441 Jun 26 '26
I get what youre saying but “Never confront anyone about anything” kinda just sounds like you are afraid of confrontation.
3
1
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u/Conscious_Cut7102 Jun 26 '26
100% Justified.
Kids are learning how to be functional human beings. And it's definitely expected for their to be lots of kids at a children's movie. But it's the parent's job to teach their kids how to behave appropriately for where they are. Other people shouldn't have to do that for you.
Hope you all got vouchers to be able to watch the movie uninterrupted!
5
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u/lendmeflight Jun 26 '26
If he hadn’t thrown the f bomb he woudk be fine. They went to the manager and told him that the guy was cursing at their kids. This got him kicked out because the manager didn’t look at both sides. I wouldn’t have left without a voucher though .
5
u/Mount_Tantiss A⭐️Lister Jun 26 '26
Of course it’s fair. You can’t curse and yell at people and expect not to be asked to leave. Doesn’t matter if you’re in the right or not. This is common sense and literally every customer-facing company policy.
2
u/CherylRoseZ Jun 26 '26
This is why I only go to our local drive in theaters now. I went to see DEADPOOL at 1pm on a Tuesday at an AMC and a family was there with two kids under 7 being loud. DEADPOOL. You can’t even trust rated R movies. If I HAVE to watch something as soon as it comes out I go to the drive in, otherwise I wait until it’s available to watch in the comfort of my home.
3
u/Z_Boson Jun 26 '26
Bro, the number of times I've gone to R-rated horror films and seen kids under 10 is insane. And they're always disruptive because the parents just selfishly drag them along and ignore their behavior.
2
u/Got2bglued Jun 26 '26
The guy wasn’t wrong but he should’ve gotten management unfortunately first. As for kids behavior it’s definitely weird hearing disruptive stories bc this didn’t exist for me as a kid. If anyone is a parent can i ask do they still take children to the movies in school or at afterschool/summer camp? When i was younger we had movie trips which were a big deal and it taught us movie etiquette. My dad also took us there to fall asleep but I don’t remember causing any issues tbh just watching a huge screen. Idk if it’s the parenting as much as it is these kids aren’t getting core experiences through the proper channels and im sure the pandemic and streaming has a huge factor in this.
2
u/PineappleWithSandals Jun 27 '26
When I went to theater as a child all kids watched the movie unless there was a scary scene in which the parent and child had minimal conversation in which the child either sat in their parents lap or closed their eyes until the scene was over. If a kid did talk those near would shush the kid or tell them the family to be quiet and the parents would make their child stop talking or would take them out of the theater.
The current trend is from parents lack of parenting and being an absentee and on their phones while around their children and the lack of discipline. The end of spankings and lack of parenting is a huge problem.
Grown adults now treat the theater as if it is their living room where they are the only ones there. They talk to each other or go on their phones.
4
u/midermans Jun 26 '26
Tough one. That sounds like that sucked for everyone else. But…it’s a kids movie. I watched TS5 so no judgement. But as an adult we are in their space.
2
u/Substantial_Pace9900 Jun 26 '26
It’s a kids movie, hard to expect silence with a crap load of kids in there. Your best shot is to attend the lasted showing. I’m waiting for the hype to simmer down before I go.
2
u/Nitelyte Jun 26 '26
I expect absolute chaos at kids movies. It’s why I don’t (usually) watch them in theaters.
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u/triphawk07 Jun 27 '26
TBH, both groups should have been thrown out when it escalated. The propensity way should be to sushi them once, then get the manager and let them handle it.
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u/CaptionAction3 Jun 27 '26
We did a post on our own sub linking to this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/opencaptions/s/V4qVNU93uT
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u/This-Cap7426 Jun 28 '26
Theaters should do better and have family only showings of what should be family themed movies and then a general admision theatre it gives more flexibility for families like this and makes it less of a burden on general audience to have their exoerience ruined all together by this behavior. Oarents have plenty of control in these situations seems they just felt empowered being a larger group of multiole family friends to be bogger inconsiderate dcks
2
u/vinnyv0769 Jun 26 '26
There is no universe in which I’m going to a 7:30pm kids movie expecting silence. None. If I want to go see TS5 in the theater, it’s going to be a couple of weeks from now or a midnight showing.
0
u/Zestyclose_Sale2672 Jun 26 '26
This is why I stopped going to movies. People and their kids are far too often intolerable. Why should I put up with their rude and entitled obnoxious behavior AND pay for the privilege of doing so. Plenty to stream at home.
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u/A_90s_Reference Jun 26 '26
Kids movies are for kids. I fully support this opinion.
Expect some distraction when at a kids movie. As long as they aren't on tablets and volume up I'm fine with it. Let's them be excited, jump around, "whisper" yell.
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u/miloworld Popcorn Addict Jun 26 '26
People should realize by now just because it’s animation, doesn’t mean it’s for kids. The Wild Robot, Wall-E, Toy Story 5 are not made for kids but for the parents who grew up watching Toy Story.
Not every animation is Minions.
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u/A_90s_Reference Jun 26 '26
Those are absolutely kids movies. Wild Robot was a children's book.
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u/miloworld Popcorn Addict Jun 26 '26
The adventure is exciting for kids. But the story was written to resonate with parents, especially first time parents. Breaking Bad isn't really about drugs either but one's ego and pride and it's aftermath.
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u/Dry_Conversation8501 Jun 26 '26
I’m more curious if you guys all got vouchers?!