Back to The Bit You Missed
Guides
For anyone who has to step out of a film
Toilet breaks
- Need the toilet during a film? Here’s what to do
Need the loo halfway through a film? When to go, how to get back to your seat, and how to catch up on what you missed. - Is there a best time to go to the toilet during a film?
When to go so you miss the least of a film: the trailers, the quieter middle, and what to do when you can’t wait.
At the cinema
- Long films with no interval: how to get through them
Three-hour films rarely have an interval. How to plan for a long screening, and what to do if you have to leave in the middle. - Why don’t films have an interval any more?
Cinemas once stopped long films halfway. Why the intermission went, which films still have one, and what to do without it. - How long are the adverts and trailers before a film?
What UK cinema chains say about adverts and trailers before the film starts, and how to use that time. - Can you leave the cinema and come back in?
Stepping out of a screening for the toilet, a call or a snack: what to take with you, getting back in, and catching up on what you missed. - The best cinema seat if you might need to step out
Aisle, end of row or near the door? Where to sit if you might need to leave during a film, and how to get back to your seat in the dark. - Using your phone in the cinema without annoying anyone
When it’s fine to look at your phone in a cinema, when it isn’t, and how to keep the screen dim enough that the row behind you barely notices. - How to make your phone screen as dim as possible
Step-by-step settings for iPhone and Android that take your screen below the normal minimum brightness, for reading in a dark cinema.
Catching up
- Missed part of a film? How to catch up
Stepped out or lost the thread? Ways to catch up on what you missed in a film, from asking a friend to reading a short recap in the dark. - How to catch up on a film without reading the ending
Most plot summaries run to the last scene. How to catch up on the part of a film you missed and stop roughly where the film is. - Fell asleep during a film? How to pick the story back up
Nodded off in the cinema and woke up lost? How to work out what you missed without asking the row or reading the ending. - Arrived late to a film? How to catch up on the start
Missed the start of a film? Whether you missed any of it, getting to your seat in the dark, and catching up on the opening scenes. - Useful apps for a trip to the cinema
Apps and phone settings that help at the cinema: booking, a dim screen, and catching up after you step out.