Honestly, I can't tell you. My position has always been that I wouldn't get the clap at a movie theater, so why would I clap at a movie theater?
I saw Star Wars the day after it came out and was worried that people would applaud whenever a character entered on screen and thereby ruin any chance I had of actually seeing the movie. Fortunately that didn't happen; one or two doofuses clapped at the opening titles, but the deafening silence with which they were met must have chastened them, since they were quiet the rest of the way.
Intriguing response. It doesn't really answer the question, but it does even better: it confirms my observation.
I was at a party on December 30 with some friends, and a woman (a foreigner) started to complain about the Star Wars movie she recently watched. She then apologized immediately, saying she didn't want to ruin it for me. I assured here that I have little interest in any Star Wars movie and therefore nothing she could say would ruin it for me. She then commented to me about how annoyed she was the people clapped during the movie quite often, especially when... (then she named certain events that some might consider "spoilers" but which to me was merely a synopsis of the program). My immediate response was that I noticed that around here as well. I first noticed it when I lived in Boston, for about five years starting in 1995. I also noticed it when I lived in New York. And in Pennsylvania. But come to think of it, I've not noticed that elsewhere. For example, I told her, the years I lived in California when I saw movies, I have no recollection of people clapping during the movie. Similarly, when I lived in Mississippi and in Texas and in Iowa, I never noticed that. I surmised that it must be a Middle Atlantic/New England phenomenon. Back East, folks clap and hoot and holler during movies. Out West (and Down South and Up North) they don't. Why? I can't tell you, but you do seem to be observe what I did, which is that few people made obnoxious noises during the movie (Out West). If you had seen the same movie Back East, then you'd certainly have been annoyed, as this woman was.
On another topic, I'm looking over the thread and I see that there's a comment about folks clapping on planes. That's equally annoying, but at least I can understand that clapping. The folks who brought you the successful touchdown are actually on the plane and have a chance at appreciating your applause. Incidentally, I only ever see that on flights to the tropics. I've seen it landing in Mexico, in Aruba, in Saint Lucia, in Jamaica, etc., but I haven't seen it upon landing in Chicago or Amsterdam or Shanghai or Tokyo, etc. I think people landing in Caribbean islands are already sort of giddy--they're all wearing shorts and looking forward to a week of hedonism and irresponsibility, after all--so the idea that the pilot is actually still sober is greatly appreciated, and they want to show him or her their appreciation. It's annoying, for sure, but at least it is logical in a way that clapping at movies is not.
