Meta Movie Mate, the chatbot that encourages you to use your phone in theaters, has arrived. Are we ready?

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has long encouraged people to use their phones, whether through the forsaken Poke on Facebook or uploading Reels on Instagram. But the company’s newest idea for how and when to take out your phone might be too big an ask for some cinema lovers: Meta wants people to use their phones in movie theaters, specifically for its chatbot Movie Mate.

The chatbot, which Meta has reportedly claimed will “get audiences back in theaters,” works by sending moviegoers trivia, quips, and questions about the movie, according to the New York Times. The catch? All of this happens while the film plays in front of them.

Fast Company has reached out to Meta for comment and more details, but we did not immediately hear back. 

On Wednesday, Movie Mate was tested in select theaters through a partnership with Blumhouse, a production company. Blumhouse screened the horror movie M3GAN as part of its Halfway to Halloween event, and Movie Mate took on the title character’s persona.

This might be a good time to remind everyone that M3GAN centers on an AI-powered robot that turns hostile.  

As reported by NYT, about 70 people attended a screening at an AMC theater in Los Angeles. Before the movie began, a Blumhouse representative told the crowd, “I know this sounds weird, but please take out your phones.”

She briefed the crowd on how to use Movie Mate, and then the movie began alongside the glow of screens—imagine describing that to horror’s own Alfred Hitchcock. Blumhouse wasn’t immediately available to comment.

Mixed reactions

Regal Cineworld joined AMC Entertainment as a testing ground for Movie Mate, though both were adamant that customers had to know what they were getting into before they bought tickets. Other chains, like Alamo Drafthouse, participated in the M3GAN rerelease but kept screens limited to the one in front, as Variety reported. 

Hollywood could definitely use help in getting people back into theaters. As Box Office Mojo data shows, domestic grosses still haven’t come close to returning to pre-pandemic levels. U.S. ticket sales hit $8.6 billion last year, compared to more than $11 billion in 2019.

However, moviegoers apparently have mixed feelings about using their phones during showings. The New York Times noted that one woman initially thought, “This is really cool,” but soon felt uncomfortable taking her phone out, reading most of the messages after the movie ended.

A Variety editor who attended a screening found the chatbot unable to converse, out of sync with the movie, and mostly ignored by others in the theater. He summed Movie Mate up in two words: “epic fail.” 

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