Should movie theaters make phone-free screenings the default?

Theaters are in no position to add friction. Domestic box office was about $9 billion in 2023 versus $11.4 billion in 2019, and the audience that drifted to streaming is exactly the casual viewer a pouch policy would annoy first. Enforcement is the other problem: ushers already deal with enough, and every confrontation over a glowing screen is a one-star review and a lost regular. Alamo Drafthouse makes strictness work because it is their whole identity; a generic multiplex copying the policy gets the complaints without the brand loyalty. The market already solved this: strict theaters exist for people who want them. A mandated default just shrinks the tent. The tent is already shrinking: 2023's domestic box office finished at $9.05 billion, still 20% below 2019's $11.3 billion, so adding friction for the casual moviegoer is the wrong bet.