Going to the cinema seating is a great way to relax and have fun, but getting stuck in a bad seat can spoil the experience. Whether you have to shimmy across your neighbors as they eat popcorn, talk loudly or put their grubby feet up on your seat (seriously, this is an issue), or you feel like you can’t hear the dialogue because of the soundtrack, bad cinema seating can make an enjoyable movie experience a chore.
The good news is that there are things you can do to choose the best seats in a theater, and the most important element of that is choosing a seat that is comfortable after three hours of sitting down. The right seat will keep your neck from stiffening and give you lumbar support that can help you stay focused on the film.
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As for the ideal seat, that depends on personal preference, as well as the specific theater and its sight lines. Vulture points out that in some old theaters, the front row may be too close and you might have to strain to catch details on the left or right sides of the image.
Another option is to sit in the middle of the back row, which will be one-half to two-thirds back from the screen. This is the area where audio engineers do their primary testing on a theater’s sound system, so you’ll get the best sound quality here. The disadvantage is that you’ll have to shimmy past more people when you need to go to the restroom or leave the theater during commercials and trailers.