A man says his trip to see the new Spider-Man movie turned into a frustrating experience because of two other people sitting near him in the theater. He shared his story in a TikTok video posted under the username @imsteeleb, which has since been viewed 3.8 million times.
In the video, the man said he had just returned home from the movie theater. “I just went to the movie theaters and had a miserable time watching Spider-Man,” he said. He made clear that his frustration had nothing to do with the movie itself, saying, “I thought Spider-Man was good. This has nothing to do with Spider-Man.”
Instead, he said his problem was with the behavior of two people sitting near him. He referred to them as “two criminals, two felonious adults” and used the caption “Arrest them, IMMEDIATELY” for the video.
Man says fellow moviegoers used their phones and talked during the film
The man said the first person, whom he called “criminal number 1,” was a man sitting directly in front of him. According to him, this person “did not check how long Spider-Man the movie was” and would pull out his phone “every 15 to 20 minutes” to check the time. He said the phone’s light would shine “directly in my eyeballs during climactic scenes, during sad scenes.”
@imsteeleb Arrest them, IMMEDIATELY #movies #spiderman #rage
♬ original sound – imsteeleb
He said this happened even during what he called the “pinnacle climax of the movie,” describing how the man put on his jacket and then immediately checked his phone again. Reacting to this, he said, “Behead him, behead him, behead him, behead him.”
While clearly exaggerated for comedic effect rather than literal, the rant’s violent language (“behead him,” “burn her at the stake”) reflects the video’s over-the-top style. He then described the second person, a woman sitting next to him with her boyfriend, whom he called “the more felonious of the two.” He said he did not mind if people reacted emotionally during a movie, such as laughing or gasping.
However, he said the issue was that she spoke during the film. He said she made comments like “I don’t know why I’m crying. It’s just a sad part,” and “I told you! See, we were talking about it and I told you-” He responded to this in the video by saying, “Shut up! Shut up!”
He said the most frustrating thing she did was take a picture of the movie screen while it was playing, which he said happened three times during the film. Reacting to this, he said, “Burn her at the stake. Burn her at the f–king stake.”
The man ended the video by saying moviegoers should be allowed to react to a film but should not talk during it, and that people should turn off their phones in the theater. He said, “Movie theater etiquette’s dead. Bury it. Put me in the casket. Because I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna go to the f–king theaters anymore. Fix it.” Theater disruptions can escalate, as when a Florida woman was hit in the face with a pizza pan after laughing at a movie scene.
After the video gained a large amount of attention, the man posted a follow-up video on TikTok the next day. In it, he said the video “has gone, I would say, f–king nuclear” in terms of views. He said he had never received that many views or likes before and described the reaction as “a little strange, a little weird” but said he was enjoying it.
He also said he received messages from people asking if he was okay. He responded, “I’m okay, I’m good. Can’t a man share a tale of whimsy and rant and rave like a f–king lunatic without being questioned?” He thanked viewers for their comments and said he planned to “find something else to get angry at soon.” Such disruptions are not unique, as a Spider-Man screening in Colombia was reportedly ruined by an audience member’s alleged rotten fart.
@imsteeleb 🫶🏻🫶🏻🫶🏻
♬ original sound – imsteeleb
The video drew a large number of comments from viewers sharing their own theater experiences. One commenter wrote, “Kid infront of me. iPad OUT. Watching a cartoon at the movies. FULL BRIGHTNESS AND SOUND.” Another shared how theater disruptions are handled in a different country, writing, “In Korea we just kick the seat like crazy if someone isn’t following movie theater etiquette.”
Some commenters questioned the growing habit of recording during movies. One wrote, “And why is everyone recording…we need proof that we were at a theater now??!” Another commenter suggested an alternative for people who want to talk during a film, writing, “if u wanna talk in the movie then watch it AT HOME!!!!” One commenter pointed out that the man did not confront the two people during the movie, writing, “You didn’t get up and do nothing about it!”
