Movie Theater Accessibility

Ali Ingersoll

What kind of accessibility do you need at a Movie Theater?

Do you need captions? Do you wear hearing aids? Are you deaf or hard of hearing? Do you have site loss?

In the United States, most movie theaters must provide a means for delivering closed captioning and audio description according to the Hearing Loss Association of America. These rules were issued in 2018 under the ADA by the Department of Justice.

What can you expect when going to the theater? Here's a helpful article to understand some of your options from Healthy Hearing.

Please share some of your experiences for movie theater accessibility

Meryl Evans

Captions yes. I don't like open captions at movie theaters because they're never easy to read. They usually don't have a background for contrast. The CaptiView devices were great in the beginning ... but then they started missing a lot and it's not always easy to get the arm set right (it sits in the cupholder). I prefer to watch movies at home where I can move around. I cannot sit for two hours.

Ali Ingersoll

as a C6 quadriplegic I actually have a different issue with accessibility at a movie theater interestingly. The temperature is just so cold for me that I actually have to bring blankets and heating pads and I end up shivering throughout the entire movie. I can't sit there for two Hours either.

Alesha Savannah

As a T10-11 SCI i too can get too chilly while in the theater! I can also get easily overstimulated! For example, we went somewhere and i transferred to the seat not knowing that the seat would rumble, rattle, and shake with the excitement of the movie… there were wafts of air coming out and everything! Whew chile, my nerve pain, muscle spasms and anxiety went through the roof!! Let’s just say the immersive experience isn’t for me anymore! Lol