Movie Theaters
By using assistive listening systems, closed captions, open captions, and audio description, you can understand movies better.
Photo explanation: headphones (Q-SYS mfr) with neckloop (WilliamAV mfr). These have two options:
- Combined audio. The headphones can send the same audio to both ears (for people with hearing loss or for audio description). Each ear has it’s own volume control.
- Split audio. Audio description in one ear and assistive listening for the other ear, with independent volume controls, which is ideal for people who are DeafBlind. Other manufacturers have separate devices: one for assistive listening and another for audio description, which requires consumers to use two receivers.
Below are the links for the accessibility (assistive listening systems and audio description) at major chain movie theaters. Please email the Center for Hearing Access with additional movie theater suggestions.
- Alamo Drafthouse Open Captions and Screenings and Assistive Technology statement
- AMC Theaters and Guest Guide
- Cinemark
- Cineplex
- Harkins
- Landmark
- Marcus
- Regal, including Cinebarre, Edwards, United Artists
- Showcase Cinemas
Movie Theater Captioning Resources
Open Captions
- Open Caption Finder movie smartphone/device app
- Shirley, T. (2023, July 10). Everyone Can Enjoy Open Captions at the Movies. Colorado AARP.
- Colorado Environmental Film Festival (CEFF) “CEFF is striving for greater film accessibility for audiences. All accepted films will be asked to provide burned in Open Captions (OC) for the 2027 edition. Closed caption files may be provided as an alternative only if approved by the festival director.” Film Freeway
State legislation-Open Captions
- District of Columbia Code of the District of Columbia
- Hawaii. First in country HB 1272, now Act 039 (2015) Act 154 (2019)
- Maryland Open Captioned Movie Bill (House Bill 426/Senate Bill 92)
- Michigan (introduced) Senate Bill 764
- New York City. Open Captions in Movie Theaters
- Virginia Legiscan Senate Bill 722 and VA government SB 722
- Washington State. SB 5486 (2025). John Waldo Act
Legal
- (2016) Questions and Answers about the Department of Justice’s Final Rule Under Title III of the ADA Requiring Movie Theaters to Provide Closed Movie Captioning and Audio Description
- (2016) Final Ruling. Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability by Public Accommodations Movie Theaters; Movie Captioning and Audio Description
- Caption Access in Movie Theaters. National Association of the Deaf (NAD)
Center for Hearing Access Resources