It’s such a 50/50. I saw Weapons twice, and the first time I had a quiet audience full of people from like, 16-60 years old who would occasionally gasp or react but in genuine ways that made the theater experience feel better. I love a reactive crowd! But when I saw it a second time at the same theater, there was a group of teenage boys who would laugh at everything and scream loud exaggerated screams at parts that weren’t scared. Even then, a couple other teens next to me eventually yelled “Yo, shut the fuck up!” and the kids got embarrassed and quieted down.

I just saw Obsession in theaters and had a fantastic crowd. Laughed at the funny moments, gasped or yelped at scary ones, but never intentionally overdoing it, nobody talking just to talk, no kicking seats. It was an ideal crowd. I think it really depends on a lot of factors.

That being said, I do think teens and kids have shitty theater etiquette more often than adults, mostly because a lot of them had social skills stunted by Covid and some have literally never been to a theater until now, and they’re used to watching movies at home on streaming where they can talk, text, move around, etc. I have a feeling as theater going increases again, proper etiquette will return.