this post was submitted on 21 Nov 2023
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It's for the projectionist, and it's probably outdated these days. But until digital film distribution became common it was actually a fairly involved job.
Edit: and if you go back to the silent film era the scores used to be played live. So maybe it's even a holdover from that.
Interesting theory but if it was clapping for the protectionist then they'd do it at the end of every movie that was well-projected, not just the movies they thought were great.
I feel it's more a habit carried over from live theater and music performances. They're happy and just instinctively clap even if it's pointless as a gesture towards the production. It just an expression of enjoyment they've developed sitting in a theater.