12 Differences I Experienced While Going to the Movies in Germany.

We’re really not big movie goers in general.  We like using Netflix and usually we have enough patience to wait until a movie is released on Google Play so we can rent it for just a couple bucks.  We used to have a great setup for watching movies at home before we sent all our stuff into storage and moved to Germany.  Even when we did go see one it was usually in the afternoon (matinee prices!) and a week or two after it came out (no sold out showings for me, please).

Of course there are always exceptions.  Mr. Meena had to see the most recent Stars Wars film as soon as he could and we even took a trip just to see The Hateful Eight in Karlsruhe.  But I hadn’t been to a movie in Germany yet and honestly there’s just not much else to do in Schweinfurt at night (most places shut down at 8pm sharp).

So we decided to have a date night and go see Deadpool at our little Schweinfurt theater.  I enjoyed the movie, even though I had to look away at some of the gruesome parts, but I enjoyed the German movie experience even more.  Here’s some of the ways that it’s different:

Seat assignments

This isn’t all that common in smaller theaters, I think, but there are a few Germans that say they must have a reserved seat before going to the theater.  I’ve even seen some of them say things like, “Why would I go to the theater if I wasn’t guaranteed a good seat?”

English & German versions

I estimate that most movies show up at our Schweinfurt theater one to two weeks after their opening date.  The English version, however, tends to take longer (It was nearly a month for Deadpool).  We’ll walk by the theater and look for the “OV” (original version) show times or Mr. Meena will go in and ask the owners when they’ll have it.  Sometimes the English version isn’t very popular so it won’t have many show times, for example Deadpool is only showing for this week at 8:30pm on Tuesday and Wednesday.  Part of this is also due to the fact that the Schweinfurt theater we go to only has five screens.

The English versions tend to be less populated, of course, but you’ll usually find some internationals there and the Germans who want to avoid having something lost in translation.

Simple tickets

At home we usually end up with three large pieces of paper after we buy our tickets.  One for me, one for Mr. Meena, and a receipt.  They are shiny, full of information about which movie we paid for, and they’re usually torn in half after you pass by the snack bar and before you get to the long movie hall.

The tickets we were handed last night looked like this.

Everyone gets the same generic ticket regardless of what movie they paid for, and the theater was so small and empty we didn’t need to have them double checked.  It’s funny how little things like that can stand in such stark contrast to what we are used to.  I love it.

It’s perhaps less convenient

While this may not be the case for newer theaters in larger German cities, it is true here in Schweinfurt.  There aren’t very many showings, we can’t buy our tickets online or even check the show times online, we have to pay in cash, and so on.

Reasonable prices and sizes for snacks

There was some markup on the snacks, of course, but it was nothing compared to paying $4.50 for a small thing of M&Ms at home (who actually pays that price, really?  I have to wonder).  The chocolate bars they had available were maybe 50 cents more than you what you would pay at the store.  There also weren’t as many options for snacks and you couldn’t buy any of those basically-a-meal monstrosities like cheese nachos or hot dogs.  And none of the snacks were supersized – the popcorn was served in bags that would be smaller than a typical small in an American theater, and there were none of those popcorn buckets that are so large you could fit a baby inside.

Photo by Vicente licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Alcoholic beverages

I have never personally been to a movie theater in the US that served alcohol, although I understand they’re gaining popularity.  But in Germany you can casually purchase a beer or wine or whatever and take it into the theater with you, even in the small theaters.  It’s no big deal.

Much less waste

The theater had real glasses behind the bar for some drinks and plastic bottles for sodas and such, which everyone pays a deposit for and then returns after the movie.  I didn’t see a single plastic cup.  It’s amazing to think how much trash is created at a typical American theater in one night compared to a German theater.  It’s actually embarrassing and a bit shameful when you think about it.

No luxury seating

It was a bare bones setup.  The seats weren’t all that comfortable nor did they recline, and you couldn’t move the armrests out of the way.  But the cup holders were located on a small shelf that was attached to the row of seats in front of us, which was kind of nice but also prevented you from putting your feet up (which isn’t something that Germans would do, anyway, I’ve actually been scolded for putting my feet up on the train before).  But I could put my purse on the shelf instead of on the floor, and that was nice.

German previews

Of course the movie previews were in German even though we went to an OV showing.  We found that sitting through the German previews was hilarious and interesting, however, for a few reasons.  First of all everything sounds more intimidating and scary in German, especially the preview for the next X-men movie.  Also, you pick up on subtle differences, like that fact that Captain America is referred to as ‘The First Avenger’ in his upcoming Civil War movie.  And I also have to confess that we found it hilarious to hear German words and voices coming from actors that we know well, and we ended up laughing quite a bit.

Less laughter

We laughed a bit loudly several times throughout the actual movie, and we were the only ones to do so.  That was strange, because I’m used to laughing along with all the people in the theater like we’re one big community (and there’s always that one person that just keeps laughing and then makes us all start over again).  Germans might crack a smile or even chuckle at a good joke, but they just aren’t prone to laugher in the cinema, apparently.

Everyone cleans up!

There’s not much trash to start with, but no one left candy wrappers or popcorn on the floor.  The trash can was maybe a tenth the size of the ones in US theaters, but everyone used it.  There also weren’t special attendants to clean up afterwards, either; we just saw one of the owners taking a quick look around.  I think that Germans generally tend to be more responsible and take better care of their public venues than Americans.

Overall, it was relaxing.

Germans have a clear division of work and home life.  If they are not working then they are relaxing, and they are good at relaxing.  No one was loud and annoying or on their cell phone during the movie.  People weren’t constantly moving around or being rude to others.  It was calm (almost to the point of being solemn) and it was good.

Have you been to the movies in Germany or have similar experiences?

 

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