A moviegoer says a baby cried, cooed, and babbled through most of a recent Spider-Man screening, disrupting the film for other guests. The person, who posted about the experience on Reddit, said the baby’s parent repeatedly took the child out of the theater and then brought them back in, only for the crying to start again minutes later.
According to the poster, the disruptions began about 20 minutes into the movie and continued on and off for nearly the entire runtime. They said the baby seemed to start crying during quiet or emotional scenes in particular.
Near the end of the film, the poster said one audience member had enough. “Can you take care of your f—-n’ kid!?” the person reportedly shouted.
Poster said they chose not to complain to theater staff
The original poster said they did not report the issue to management. They explained that the theater was a small, independently owned neighborhood venue about an hour from their home, with a single screen and $5 tickets, and said they wanted to continue supporting the business.
Other moviegoers who did report disruptions to theater staff have not always found the response straightforward, as seen in a dispute over a theater employee’s phone complaint involving a different theater and couple. The poster also said other children in the theater that day were well-behaved, and that the outburst from the audience member reflected a feeling they believed was shared by others in the room.
The post drew thousands of reactions and comments, with many people sharing their own views on whether babies belong in movie theaters. Several commenters argued that parents should arrange child care instead of bringing infants to screenings. One commenter wrote, “F–k that, you paid for the ticket and should get to enjoy your movie. Those parents should’ve found a babysitter. Staff should’ve kicked them out.”
Some commenters drew a distinction between movie theaters and other public settings where parents may have less choice. One person wrote, “There are situations where you just have to put up with babies. Airplanes, key among them. People sometimes NEED to travel, sometimes kids need to come. Just gotta deal with it… Movies? Absolutely not. Nice restaurants? No way.”
Other commenters pointed to loud theater volume as a reason infants should not be brought to screenings. One wrote, “Babies do not belong in regular movie theaters. I say that as a parent. It’s extremely loud, I can’t imagine how uncomfortable it is for little ones’ ears.” That commenter also mentioned a theater near them that offers baby-friendly and sensory-friendly showings with lower volume and raised lighting.
A separate commenter shared a related experience from a different film screening, saying a young boy with a disability made loud vocalizations during a movie they attended. They said they did not blame the child, describing him as appearing “overstimulated with the amount of people and the noise,” but said the combination of that and a crying baby made it difficult to focus on the film.
Not all responses to the post were about the baby. One commenter asked the poster how the movie was overall, separate from the disruption, saying they were considering seeing it with their spouse. The original poster responded that it was their favorite of the recent Spider-Man films featuring Tom Holland.
Some commenters also referenced past personal experiences with children in theaters, including one who described bringing an infant to a drive-in screening of the same film and confirming beforehand that the sound would not carry outside the car.
Another commenter recalled a screening of The Odyssey where a baby was reportedly loud throughout the film, a movie that has also drawn attention for an incident involving a moviegoer causing theater damages during a separate showing.
The original poster’s account has not been independently verified, and the name of the theater was not disclosed in the post.
Published: Aug 3, 2026 06:00 pm