Theater owners are solving the wrong problem - they want to jam cell phones:

With flat panel prices in free-fall and sizes approaching those anaemic megaplex screens, it’s no wonder the National Association of Theater Owners is in a panic about the decline in consumers willing to slap down a near-sawbuck to watch a flick. What to do? Well, it looks like cellphone jamming is the new baby jeebus in an industry attempt to lure your azz back into their buttery seats. See, NATO (er, yeah) has announced plans to petition the FCC for permission to jam cell phone signals within theatres to “block rude behaviour”

Would actually making the audience aware of a rule (silent/vibrate/off) - and enforcing it wit expulsion if need be - be just too hard? I don't typically have to worry about emergency calls during a movie, but some people (doctors, for instance) might not have that luxury.

Maybe theater owners should ask Hollywood to create a better product instead.