Choose Between Two Options

• $15 for two movie tickets and two medium popcorns ($30 value)
• $30 for four movie tickets and four medium popcorns ($60 value)

Four Ways to Optimize Your Moviegoing Experience

Everyone has their opinions on how to make the most out of a trip to the movies. Check out a few of Groupon’s moviegoing tips based on testable theories.

1. Don’t switch lines. Although jumping ship at the concession stand may seem like clever one-upmanship, it’s only an illusion. According to queueing theory—developed as a means of predicting the number of wires needed to handle telephone traffic—line delays are dispersed randomly, which means that every line has the same odds of moving the fastest at any given time. The best bet is to stay put.

2. Sit slightly off-center for the best sound. Typically, sound engineers calibrate the theater’s speakers from the dead center of the row that’s about two-thirds from the front of the theater. For sound, at least, this is the sweet spot—the chair with the clearest sound and the most balanced levels. Remember that the sound is in stereo, so in order to distinguish between left and right, shift one or two seats from the center for the full dynamic effect.

3. The front row isn’t that bad. Most moviegoers shun the front row, where the somewhat slanted image portends cramped necks and befuddled eyes. But as far as visuals go, the angle shouldn’t be an issue. Thanks to a concept known as perceptual constancy, our brains easily compensate for the skewed perspective, seeing every face, object, and enchanted skull as completely normal within a few minutes.

4. Sit among the legends. If you do decide to sit farther back, take a tip from the late movie critic Roger Ebert, who preferred to sit in the aisle seat on the side farther from the center. This let him, in his words, “look diagonally across the aisle, and not have to peer over a taller person in front of me.”