You know how watching a movie always makes you feel and live through all kinds of emotions? Now, if watching a movie alone gives you that, then think about the power of the crowd. Yeah, watching movies at a theater together with a bunch of like-minded people gives a whole new dimension to the experience! Knowing that Reddit is a real treasure trove concerning anything and everything, we dug around and found a thread where people share the most awesome audience reactions to movies they’ve had the pleasure of experiencing. And if reading these entertaining stories is a blast, just think how awesome it must’ve felt being there!
From bouts of laughter to gasps of astonishment and from sights of anticipation to remarks that were spot-on, these live movie audience reactions are probably what moviemakers hope and look for when premiering their movies. Really, even if you prefer watching movies alone, this kind of journey turning complete strangers into allies in joy, tears, and suspense is surely one of a kind.
Moreover, watching movies with a group of people - strangers or not - heightens your own senses and emotions a hundredfold. That’s right; a romantic movie might make you feel like you’re in love yourself, a drama might make you relive the events as if you were the main character, and horror movie audience reactions might make you want to sleep with your light on that night. And it’s oh so worth it!
Again, thankfully there’s this epic Reddit thread to document all of these movie theater audience reactions because not all of us have been lucky enough to experience this kind of immersive movie-watching and this kind of overwhelming feeling of togetherness with a crowd of strangers. Besides all that, it also reveals the true power of cinema in its ability to evoke emotions and give us memories that transcend time.
#1 Matrix
pianoplayah replied:
"That very first scene, when Trinity floats up in the air and everything freezes, I’m pretty sure everyone in the theatre gasped. And then they just keep topping it. In the bullet dodging scene, you could feel this palpable sense of awe in the theatre. Everyone walked out of that movie realizing that they had just witnessed a something completely new, a turning point in action cinema. I’m so glad I got to witness it. My dad tells the story of everyone gasping in Star Wars when they jump to hyperspace for the first time—the matrix was that for me and my generation I think. A total leap of technology and creativity."
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40points
#2 Avengers: Endgame
"When Captain America lifted Thor's hammer and the whole room went absolutely bat***t."
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40points
#3 Jurassic Park
"Nothing will beat seeing the T-Rex for the first time in Jurassic Park in theaters. The cup with the water, the sound effects, the acting, all of it was magic. Still gives me goosebumps to this day when I watch it again."
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39points
#4 Schindler's List
"When the little girl in the red coat (the only color in the movie) was in a pile of bodies. The choked sobs of a large part of the theater."
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38points
#5 The Avengers
"Hulk rag-dolling Loki. The whole audience burst out laughing. It was so unexpected and so precisely perfect for the moment."
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37points
#6 Avengers: Infinity War
"Thor arriving in Wakanda in Infinity War. The whole theater exploded!"
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31points
#7 The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring
"When Aragorn fights the leader of the Uruk Hai, the crowd popped at the ending like a wrestling crowd pops when a wrestler hits their finisher. That whole movie experience to this day is one of the best I’ve ever had. Everyone was super into it, and this is before the day of huge hype for movies like MCU or Star Wars. The end of that duel was just a chef's kiss. Not giving away the details cuz if you haven’t seen it, watch it. Also, watch the extended versions."
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28points
#8 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
"‘I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!’
The music swelling, the visual. It was just such a powerful moment. And you could hear sniffling throughout the theater..."
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25points
#9 The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King
"People cheering when Eowin cut the head off of the Nazgûl in Return of the King."
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23points
#10 Borat
"I saw Borat in the cinema with my brother and there was a lot of laughter throughout. An older couple sitting diagonally in front of us didn’t laugh once… and then Borat comments that his sisters 'v****e hangs like sleeve of wizard.' The elderly woman gives a sudden shout of a laugh and then continues to laugh really, really hard and she can’t stop, and her husband is looking at her with a surprised smile like he hasn’t seen this side of her for many years. It was a really sweet, intimate moment to witness."
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23points
#11 Aliens
"Aliens: the "Get away from her, you B***H!!!" scene. The theater lost its mind."
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22points
#12 Star Wars: A New Hope
"Starting credits roll. amazing space battle fills the screen... two hours later, as the closing music rose, I noticed I still had a full bag of popcorn on my lap. The movie blew my young mind so hard that I forgot I had popcorn."
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21points
#13 Saving Private Ryan
"The Normandy invasion in Saving Private Ryan was by far the most visceral movie experience ever. I doubt I will ever feel that way in a movie theater ever again."
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20points
#14 A Quiet Place
"Seeing A Quiet Place in a crowded theatre a few years ago. The entire audience was deathly quiet. No one was eating popcorn, whispering, or looking at their phone (I was sitting in the back row). You could have heard a pin drop. It was some nice synergy between the audience and the premise of the movie itself."
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20points
#15 Kill Bill Vol .1
"Kill Bill Vol 1. I saw it opening night in a Times Square movie Theater that held about 1600 people. When the fight against The Crazy 88’s ended, some guy immediately yelled 'Rewind!' and the whole theater went crazy."
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20points
#16 Mad Max: Fury Road
"I remember leaving the theatre feeling completely exhausted, overwhelmed, and physically drained. It was like 2 straight hours of constant intense stimulation - drums, guitars, loud cars, dust, fire, sun, yelling, and shouting. It was just so intense and it is like that from what felt like beginning to end. That being said, I thought it was incredible. Loved feeling that visceral reaction to a movie."
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20points
#17 The Lord Of The Rings: Two Towers
"When Gandalf was fighting the balrog at the beginning of Two Towers. I was just enthralled by the whole beginning of that movie, so epic. That scene where they're falling into the water gave me goosebumps."
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19points
#18 The Dark Knight
"I remember people cheering when the Joker first pulled off his mask during the opening bank heist, and when Gordon arrested the Joker after revealing he was still alive. But during Joker's hand-recorded tape, it was deathly quiet and you could hear people flinch when he yelled 'Look at me!'. Absolutely amazing theater experience."
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18points
#19 Transformers
"It was my 30th birthday. Was a child of the 1980s, so I grew up on the original cartoon. Got all my friends and family together to see it because I knew it was going to be the biggest hit of nostalgia for us all. 2I was sitting next to my brother. When Optimus Prime started reading that opening narration, I’ll never forget hearing my brother whisper, 'Holy s**t, it’s Optimus.' And just like that, we were 10 again."
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18points
#20 Terminator 2: Judgment Day
"When the T-1000 first comes out of the fire after crashing the big tow truck, the dude behind me yelled out 'S**t! How they goin’ stop this guy?'"
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16points