CHAT: Should phones be banned in the cinema?

Earlier this year we asked you if snacks should be banned in cinemas and theatres - now we're asking about phones.

In most cinemas before the film begins an announcement appears on-screen, telling everyone to turn off their phone or put it on silent, so as not to disturb others.

However, it seems like often people aren't following this guidance, which has led to lots of debate online about how big a problem this is and how it should be dealt with.

Some actors, film directors, critics and cinemagoers have all shared their anger about phone users during performances and screenings at cinemas and theatres.

Welsh film critic Gary Slaymaker said he now goes to morning screenings to avoid phone use and poor behaviour at cinemas.

Gary also suggested the possibility of a lockbox for mobile phones to help improve the cinema experience, although he said this would be quite an "extreme" step.

There's also been similar complaints at theatres, with actors sometimes even calling people out during the performance for filming parts of the show or being on their phones and laptops.

Have you seen it happening? Do you find it distracting or rude? Should cinemas and theatres be stricter when it comes to people using devices? Or is it ok to use or check your phones?

Let us know in the comments what you think.

It's both audiences and those involved in the film and theatre industry that have been calling out this kind of behaviour.

Actresses Rosamund Pike and Jessie Buckley have spoken out after they noticed an audience member was texting during their theatre performances.

Another actress, Lesley Manville, also complained after someone filmed the actors while they were taking their bows during a curtain call, after the performance had ended.

Director Martin Scorsese meanwhile, has said that he no longer watches films in theatres because he's so appalled by the behaviour of his fellow cinema-goers.

Film TikToker Cerys Hawkes complained in one of her videos about being in the cinema while others are "filming themselves, the screen and other audience members with the flash on, in an attempt to (what looked like) record 'reaction' content for social media".

But James Connor, a senior manager for the UK Cinema Association, has told the BBC that mobile phone use or people chatting during cinema screenings "are not widespread and don't reflect typical behaviour".

Cinemas Vue, Odeon, Cineworld and Everyman cinemas say customers are asked to switch off phones during screenings, and be considerate to others.

Cineworld has also said it reserves the right to ask disruptive customers to "leave the cinema immediately" without a refund.