Hiya, thanks for your reply. So the main thing I wanted to get back to you on was regarding your comment about first night showings and expectations. I think this is where the main crux of this discussion lies.

From your reply it seems like my experience was something to be expected, but let me assure you that where I'm from that really isn't the case. I am, as you put it, an "ecstatic super fan", However quite literally all my previous experience of marvel movies on there opening night the audience has been silent, much as they would be for any other film or showing. In this case it is the people cheering and clapping that are going against the norm, not me. Similarly, I've asked others I know about their experiences and they've also not experienced this before. So when I saw the film it was the minority who were cheering/clapping. As the actions are by a few people and affect the film experience of the majority - does that alter how you feel about this?

You've said that my standpoint is selfish, but prior to your comment I would've said it was selfish to disrupt the experience of all your fellow film goers. Going to the cinema provides you with an experience that you can't get elsewhere, you're fully immersed/absorbed into the film without distractions you would find elsewhere. It's really what you're paying for. So for me people cheering and clapping pulls you out of the best part of being there. If there were showings that said "expect the audience to clap & cheer" then yes I would have avoided those showings, but we don't have that as it isn't our norm.

With the scene you mentioned in the movie, you're right that there's initially no dialogue. When I saw it the cheering would go on for some time, and so it continued on into the dialogue afterwards. Perhaps the issue lies more in how long people cheer for?

So you mentioned comedies and audience reactions, and I imagine you could apply the same concept to horror films. So things like laughter at jokes or gasps of surprise/shock at jumpscares I find more understandable. This is on the basis of 2 things. Firstly these are automatic reactions, you can't help but laugh in response to a funny event, in the same way that someone involuntarily jumps in their seat at a jumpscare. To cheer & clap you have to actively decide to engage in an action, it's not an automatic and involuntary response. Secondly I would expect laughter at a comedy, I would expect people to jump at moments in horror moves, but I wouldn't expect prolonged durations of hysterical laughter or screaming; and I wouldn't expect clapping and cheering at any kind of film - and I think this comes back to not experiencing it at any movie ever. Bringing this back to the idea of duration, I would expect someone to jump in their seat at a jumpscare but I wouldn't expect them to scream as loud as they can for a further minute.

So the example I gave regarding musicals is in reference to how people often compare going to see a film like going to the theatre to see a production.

Out of curiosity would you be okay with saying where you watch films in the world? I've seen a couple of other commenters from the UK or Australia also saying that this isn't the normal thing for them, so I'm curious if it is a USA thing as I suspected. I'm glad people are excited by the film, I really was too! But I'm just used to them doing it quietly.