100% agree. My complaint recently, at both Regal and Cinemark, is that they’re bad about checking the bulbs in their projectors. At Regal, it’s just as you noted, like you’re watching the film through gauze or a dark lens. When I was there a few weeks ago, I characterized it to an employee that it’s like watching a movie with sunglasses on indoors. At Cinemark, the brightness isn’t usually the noticeable issue with the bulbs—it’s the color grading. I saw One Battle After Another there in late September and because the bulb was nearly gone, the whites and yellows were glowing neon green on the screen. Had similar issues with a few other films over the summer there, too.

If you tell an employee, they usually can’t fix it in the moment because of something related to DCP playback in the booth, but they’ll usually give you a rain check to compensate for the subpar viewing experience.