Martin Scorsese, 82, says he now screens new releases only in his private room, driven away from multiplexes by “a distracting circus” of ringing phones, chatter and snack runs that drown out the movies he tries to watch. The director voiced the complaint in a recent conversation with veteran interviewer Peter Travers, shared on Travers’ new blog The Travers Take.
Travers quoted Scorsese lamenting that audience noise “drowns out the actors,” unlike the spirited but film-focused discussions he remembers from his youth. Coverage across U.S. and international outlets quickly sparked debate over whether etiquette or projection standards bear greater blame for eroding big-screen immersion.
Domestic box-office revenue reached an estimated $8.75 billion in 2024, still about 23 percent below 2019 levels. Analysts warn that attendance increasingly skews toward blockbusters and premium formats, leaving many indie titles vulnerable to rapid streaming windows.
Chains are responding: AMC’s “Go Plan” sets aside up to $1.5 billion for laser projection, recliners and Dolby-grade sound, and a wider consortium of eight exhibitors has pledged $2.2 billion for similar upgrades across 21,000 screens. Advocates for theatrical presentation such as Christopher Nolan continue to frame theaters as “democratic gathering places” whose communal energy cannot be replicated at home.
Scorsese himself still relies on that infrastructure: Apple and Paramount backed a full theatrical run for “Killers of the Flower Moon” in 2023 before its streaming debut, and he is developing a Dwayne Johnson crime drama intended for cinema release.
Film historian Jeanine Basinger argues his stance is less a rejection of theaters than a demand for higher standards, noting that “the medium he loves thrives when the venue respects the film.”Whether upgraded venues and stricter etiquette can lure the Oscar-winner back to a multiplex remains uncertain, but his warning lands as exhibitors look for new ways to reclaim audiences one phone-free screening at a time.
