First movie you saw in theaters?

[Lexi Darling]

Good morning everyone! We've got a thread about what you're watching now and one about what you're excited to watch in the future, so I thought why not go back to the past?

So, what was the first movie you saw in theaters, and how old were you? Bonus question: What was the first R-rated movie you saw, theaters or otherwise, and how old were you then?

I remember mine pretty well; my first (or at least first conscious) theater experience was Aladdin in late 1992. I'm sure being three years old I comprehended very little of the plot, but I liked Iago. I really freaking liked Iago. I immediately begged my parents for a plush of him, in fact; a plush I hung onto for a good while until we probably sold him at a garage sale or something. RIP to the iconic legend Gilbert Gottfried.

And as far as I can remember, the first R-rated movie I saw was, funnily enough, still a favorite to this day, which is of course Tom Green's 2001 opus of trash, Freddy Got Fingered. I actually saw it via sneaking into the theater, and while 12 year old me didn't love it (it was more just awe and confusion in a very surreal way), I didn't end up hating it like the critics did and spent years wondering why they were so offended by it. Perhaps an early milestone event in my journey to becoming a connoisseur of crappy cinema?

I'd love to hear about your experiences!

[Janszoon]

I'm amazed you can remember your first! I know I saw The Empire Strikes Back and one of the Smokey and the Bandit movies (the second one, I think) in the theater when I was quite young, but I'm really not sure what my actual first movie was. This definitely wasn't my first movie, but I do have a very clear memory of standing in line to see E.T.. I know exactly what movie theater it was at and I clearly remember looking at the poster for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as I stood and waited.

[Psy-Fi]

I can't remember the first movie I saw in a theater or the first R-rated rated movie I saw but I do know that the first movie I ever saw in a drive-in theater was 'Doctor Zhivago' back in the mid 60's when I was four years old. My parents brought me with them and I fell asleep in the back seat of our car before the movie ended.

[Janszoon]

I can't remember the first movie I saw in a theater or the first R-rated rated movie I saw but I do know that the first movie I ever saw in a drive-in theater was 'Doctor Zhivago' back in the mid 60's when I was four years old. My parents brought me with them and I fell asleep in the back seat of our car before the movie ended.

Isn't that movie like a million hours long?

[Lexi Darling]

I'm amazed you can remember your first! I know I saw The Empire Strikes Back and one of the Smokey and the Bandit movies (the second one, I think) in the theater when I was quite young, but I'm really not sure what my actual first movie was. This definitely wasn't my first movie, but I do have a very clear memory of standing in line to see E.T.. I know exactly what movie theater it was at and I clearly remember looking at the poster for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as I stood and waited.

My memory wasn't really that conscious at that point. I only really know it was Aladdin specifically because of my parents helping me to fill in the blanks in my own memory. I wouldn't say my conscious memory "turned on" until our family trip to Disney World in summer 1993, a trip that I don't have fond memories of because I lost my favorite monkey plush somewhere, haha. I remember a lot of movies I went to in 1994 very well though.

But that's so cool that you saw Empire in theaters! I'm not sure how old you would have been at the time, you don't have to say it if you don't want of course. I remember you saying you were older than Ron Desantis and that's my only frame of reference, haha.

The closest theater to me that I went to back in the day is still around, but my favorite theater, which was I think a smaller, non-chain theater, was razed to the ground when I was around 13-14 if I remember correctly. It wasn't the one I went to the most regularly but it's by far the most nostalgic. I have very vivid memories of seeing Babe, Mouse Hunt, that Zorro movie with Antonio Banderas, and some others at that theater. Good ass times.

[Janszoon]

My memory wasn't really that conscious at that point. I only really know it was Aladdin specifically because of my parents helping me to fill in the blanks in my own memory. I wouldn't say my conscious memory "turned on" until our family trip to Disney World in summer 1993, a trip that I don't have fond memories of because I lost my favorite monkey plush somewhere, haha. I remember a lot of movies I went to in 1994 very well though.

But that's so cool that you saw Empire in theaters! I'm not sure how old you would have been at the time, you don't have to say it if you don't want of course. I remember you saying you were older than Ron Desantis and that's my only frame of reference, haha.

The closest theater to me that I went to back in the day is still around, but my favorite theater, which was I think a smaller, non-chain theater, was razed to the ground when I was around 13-14 if I remember correctly. It wasn't the one I went to the most regularly but it's by far the most nostalgic. I have very vivid memories of seeing Babe, Mouse Hunt, that Zorro movie with Antonio Banderas, and some others at that theater. Good ass times.

I was three when Empire came out. I'm not actually sure if I saw it when it first came out or not though. It was much more common back then for movies to be re-released back into theaters after their original run so it's entirely possible I saw it a year or two later. I do know for sure that I saw Return of the Jedi in the theater multiple times during it's original run though. I clearly remember the second (or maybe third) time I went to see it, it lost sound during the scene where Leia meets Wicket.

Movie theater memories are kind of awesome aren't they? My equivalent to the local theater you described was the next town over. I saw tons of movies there. Ones I specifically remember seeing there as a kid were Back to the Future, Back to the Future II, The Goonies, The Princess Bride, Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, Batman and Batman Returns. I ended up working there my junior and senior year of high school (1994-1995) so I have this totally separate set of memories of the place during that time. I tried to see every movie that played there during that time, even shit like Lightning Jack and The Jerky Boys: The Movie. It was demolished several years ago and now a bunch of condos are there.

[Lexi Darling]

I was three when Empire came out. I'm not actually sure if I saw it when it first came out or not though. It was much more common back then for movies to be re-released back into theaters after their original run so it's entirely possible I saw it a year or two later. I do know for sure that I saw Return of the Jedi in the theater multiple times during it's original run though. I clearly remember the second (or maybe third) time I went to see it, it lost sound during the scene where Leia meets Wicket.

Ah, nice! I have a pretty crazy Star Wars story of my own. I saw all three of the OG movies in theaters when they re-released them in 1997, my dad was a huge fan (he saw all three on their original theatrical runs) and and he successfully made me a big fan as well. So when Phantom Menace started being promoted I was of course hype as hell. I was 10 years old, and while there were movies that I didn't get and some I couldn't get into, I had never really been disappointed by a movie before. As far as my little babby brain could conceive, Star Wars was always gonna be dope, there was just no way it couldn't be.

With that stage set, picture this: It's opening night. My whole family, me, my parents and my 7 year old sister, show up to the theater only to see the box office sell out of Star Wars tickets right before our eyes. And I shit you not, I actually broke down and cried.

I ended up seeing the movie in theaters a few days later. I remember it being daytime when I went so I think it had to be on a weekend. The crazy thing is I don't really recall feeling let down by the movie exactly (certainly not consciously), I just have this very vivid memory of walking out of that theater on a glum overcast day and it just slowly setting in how little an impact, positive or negative, the movie made on me. It was just... a movie. And I didn't really recognize it or have the words in my vocabulary to describe it back in 1999, but I think that was the day the "magic" of the big film and media franchises of my childhood just kind of died for me. As a teenager I grew to be a lot more cynical and less wowed by cinematic experiences. It's probably kind of a root reason I never got into big blockbuster franchises like Transformers or Avatar or the MCU.

I didn't realize it at the time, but that goofy ass Jar Jar movie kind of changed the entire course of my taste in film, and to an extent the way I think about media in general. Ironically, a movie that didn't make much of an impact on 10 year old Mrs. Waffles kinda had a huge ripple effect and ended up actually making a big impact on the Mrs. Waffles of today.

Gosh, I didn't start this post intending to wax so philosophical, haha. C'est la vie.

[Janszoon]

Ah, nice! I have a pretty crazy Star Wars story of my own. I saw all three of the OG movies in theaters when they re-released them in 1997, my dad was a huge fan (he saw all three on their original theatrical runs) and and he successfully made me a big fan as well. So when Phantom Menace started being promoted I was of course hype as hell. I was 10 years old, and while there were movies that I didn't get and some I couldn't get into, I had never really been disappointed by a movie before. As far as my little babby brain could conceive, Star Wars was always gonna be dope, there was just no way it couldn't be.

With that stage set, picture this: It's opening night. My whole family, me, my parents and my 7 year old sister, show up to the theater only to see the box office sell out of Star Wars tickets right before our eyes. And I shit you not, I actually broke down and cried.

I ended up seeing the movie in theaters a few days later. I remember it being daytime when I went so I think it had to be on a weekend. The crazy thing is I don't really recall feeling let down by the movie exactly (certainly not consciously), I just have this very vivid memory of walking out of that theater on a glum overcast day and it just slowly setting in how little an impact, positive or negative, the movie made on me. It was just... a movie. And I didn't really recognize it or have the words in my vocabulary to describe it back in 1999, but I think that was the day the "magic" of the big film and media franchises of my childhood just kind of died for me. As a teenager I grew to be a lot more cynical and less wowed by cinematic experiences. It's probably kind of a root reason I never got into big blockbuster franchises like Transformers or Avatar or the MCU.

I didn't realize it at the time, but that goofy ass Jar Jar movie kind of changed the entire course of my taste in film, and to an extent the way I think about media in general. Ironically, a movie that didn't make much of an impact on 10 year old Mrs. Waffles kinda had a huge ripple effect and ended up actually making a big impact on the Mrs. Waffles of today.

Gosh, I didn't start this post intending to wax so philosophical, haha. C'est la vie.

That's funny! I had a very different experience with The Phantom Menace. There were always rumors about more Star Wars movies when I was growing up. It was fun to contemplate but it never seemed like it was going to really happen. Many years went by—and they were childhood years for me so they felt like decades—then finally the special edition versions of the OT were released, with the hint that a whole new trilogy was on the horizon. When I saw the special edition of Return of the Jedi with the changed ending, I was blown away by that little glimpse of Coruscant. I had imagined it for years, but now I had actually seen it on the big screen! Fast forward two years. I was 22 and me and all my roommates in Orlando went to see this crazy holy grail of a movie, the first new Star Wars movie since I was six years old. All of us really liked it! In later years I would come to think of it as the worst Star Wars movie, but at the time I viewed it as a table setting movie with a bunch of exciting new things. The biggest was the far superior lightsaber fights, but the new locations and new aliens blew me away too. Actual scenes on Coruscant! Underwater scenes! Aliens that weren't limited by puppetry and stop-motion animation! Shit, I was excited to see them use lightsabers to cut through a door—I had always wondered if they could do that! I also thought Darth Maul was a great villain and was sure he'd be coming back in the next movie. Oh well. lol

[Lexi Darling]

That's funny! I had a very different experience with The Phantom Menace. There were always rumors about more Star Wars movies when I was growing up. It was fun to contemplate but it never seemed like it was going to really happen. Many years went by—and they were childhood years for me so they felt like decades—then finally the special edition versions of the OT were released, with the hint that a whole new trilogy was on the horizon. When I saw the special edition of Return of the Jedi with the changed ending, I was blown away by that little glimpse of Coruscant. I had imagined it for years, but now I had actually seen it on the big screen! Fast forward two years. I was 22 and me and all my roommates in Orlando went to see this crazy holy grail of a movie, the first new Star Wars movie since I was six years old. All of us really liked it! In later years I would come to think of it as the worst Star Wars movie, but at the time I viewed it as a table setting movie with a bunch of exciting new things. The biggest was the far superior lightsaber fights, but the new locations and new aliens blew me away too. Actual scenes on Coruscant! Underwater scenes! Aliens that weren't limited by puppetry and stop-motion animation! Shit, I was excited to see them use lightsabers to cut through a door—I had always wondered if they could do that! I also thought Darth Maul was a great villain and was sure he'd be coming back in the next movie. Oh well. lol

That is funny! I didn't really dislike the movie, not consciously anyway. I think honestly it just didn't have as much stuff that appealed to my 10 year old brain. I was kind of confused by a lot of the stuff about the politics of Naboo and the trade federation stuff, for example. I think the focus was just different enough from the original trilogy that my expectations were messed with a bit. I would definitely agree on Darth Maul, he was a highlight of the movie and I liked his design since I first saw the promotional stuff. The battle against him at the end was definitely my favorite part of the movie and the point where it came closest to having the Star Wars magic I really liked.

My opinion on the prequel era was definitely reinforced by Attack of the Clones, though. At the time I liked it even less than Phantom Menace, though in retrospect I think the half of it that focuses on Obi-Wan is actually pretty dope, it's the Anakin stuff that made me groan at the time and still kinda does. But I was 13 and in the early stages of my edgy "i hate everything" emo phase so it's probably not even the movie's fault, haha.

Honestly my childhood sense of wonder was gonna go at some point, I think it's more of a me problem than a problem with Star Wars.

[innerspaceboy]

The first film I saw in theaters was An American Tail when I was 5 years old. I got the Feivel Christmas stocking as a McDonald's Happy Meal premium in 1986, but my ex-wife stole it when she moved out along with my deceased father's childhood ornaments.

I had casually mentioned the McDonald's stocking to my girlfriend during one of her visits to the States, and minutes later she covertly spotted the exact stocking I'd described in an antique store we visited together. She bought it and hid it while I was in the restroom and gifted it to me last Christmas.

It was a magnificent gift! <3

[jadis]

Pretty sure it was some Russian children's movie, don't remember which

[Psy-Fi]

Isn't that movie like a million hours long?

Three hours and seventeen minutes according to IMDb.

[Guybrush]

I've no idea what my first cinema experience was. I remember watching movies like Kristin Lavransdatter and Jumanji in the mid 90s, but I must've gone to the movies before then.

I do remember my earliest horror movies which were Nightmare on Elm Street (think this was first), Bad Taste and Braindead / Dead Alive. They really left an impression on me.

[DJChameleon]

The first film I saw in theaters was An American Tail when I was 5 years old. I got the Feivel Christmas stocking as a McDonald's Happy Meal premium in 1986, but my ex-wife stole it when she moved out along with my deceased father's childhood ornaments.

I had casually mentioned the McDonald's stocking to my girlfriend during one of her visits to the States, and minutes later she covertly spotted the exact stocking I'd described in an antique store we visited together. She bought it and hid it while I was in the restroom and gifted it to me last Christmas.

It was a magnificent gift! <3

oh man that's a great gift. When I was younger an I had a Feivel backpack. I loved An American Tail and Feivel Goes West.

It's really tough to remember the first movie that I saw in theaters but I feel like the one that stands out in my memory is this weird like Kangaroo ninja type movie. Warriors of Virtue I think it was called but I may have seen Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie in theaters before that. The yellow ranger was my favorite back then and in that movie. I bonded with my stepdad over calling her "big butt yellow ranger" that was our thing. Every time she was on screen we would say that out loud. Oddly enough in that movie whoever the camera person was they used to use certain angles to showcase her butt. In hindsight, that's just weird as fuck and I don't know why they did that in what's supposed to be a kids movie.

Warriors of Virtue was such a trippy movie. I feel like I need to re-watch it because I only vaguely remember it.

My first R-rated movie was probably Hellraiser and I didn't see it in theaters. I feel like that formed my love for horror movies and I just went down the slasher horror movie path after that with Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Jason movies.

[Lexi Darling]

oh man that's a great gift. When I was younger an I had a Feivel backpack. I loved An American Tail and Feivel Goes West.

It's really tough to remember the first movie that I saw in theaters but I feel like the one that stands out in my memory is this weird like Kangaroo ninja type movie. Warriors of Virtue I think it was called but I may have seen Mighty Morphin Power Rangers movie in theaters before that. The yellow ranger was my favorite back then and in that movie. I bonded with my stepdad over calling her "big butt yellow ranger" that was our thing. Every time she was on screen we would say that out loud. Oddly enough in that movie whoever the camera person was they used to use certain angles to showcase her butt. In hindsight, that's just weird as fuck and I don't know why they did that in what's supposed to be a kids movie.

Warriors of Virtue was such a trippy movie. I feel like I need to re-watch it because I only vaguely remember it.

My first R-rated movie was probably Hellraiser and I didn't see it in theaters. I feel like that formed my love for horror movies and I just went down the slasher horror movie path after that with Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street and the Jason movies.

Holy crap, Mr. Waffles and I literally just watched Warriors of Virtue last week. I saw it in theaters in the 90s as well. One of those movies that vaguely lived in the dusty back corner of my brain for a couple decades. The movie is pretty okay for a kids movie but the villain is 10/10 in over the top flamboyant overacting and makes the whole thing for me. He gets more and more unhinged as the film progresses and we had a blast, haha.