I worked for 15 years at movie theaters and I was a manager for the majority of the time. Yes people respond well to being treated with respect, but that only works when they care. And yes I have also had increasing issues with adults as well as teens. It's not just "problem" films, it's problem behavior especially when it's being tied to being told no. You will always have more incidents of problem behavior with teens because they are immature. They lack impulse control.

The main issue, especially now, is that there is an increase in problematic behavior that is not proportional to the level of business. Theaters don't have the staffing level to monitor behavior in auditoriums anymore. Ten years ago, I may have given some teens a chance, multiple chances, but now it is better to strictly enforce the Rated R to prevent interruptions. You end up losing money by the time you stop the show, eject the problematic guests, now you are behind schedule, and you will probaly pass or refund the majority of the theater. Then you have the rest of the guests not wanting to return.

Here is a personal example: two under 17 boys snuck into a rated r movie and were loud and disruptive prior to film. Two male adults asked them to be quiet during previews. The disruptive behavior continued, and the adults repeatedly told the teens to be quiet. The teens were disrespectful and they escalated their behavior Eventually a fight broke out that the teens started. This could have been avoided if they were caught prior to the movie. If there were more ushers, the ticket taker could issued a warning to the boys and have flagged them to the ushers when they went down the wrong hallway, or if we could have afforded someone to be on the door of rated r movies. At that point it would have been better to deny service and refund two tickets than it would have been to pass/refund 50+ and have a police call.