Washington Moviegoers Will Notice More Subtitles Soon
You might be more distracted in the movie theatres starting in the new year when you see more and more subtitles at the bottom of screens. Why is this happening, and is it as bad as you think? We’ll discuss this below.
Subtitles On During A Show
Unless the show or film is in a different language, I don’t like subtitles. They serve their purpose, like at bars and restaurants when the volume is low (or off), but if the sound is up, and if it’s in English, then I would prefer them to stay off. I’m there to watch something; if I wanted to read, I’d grab a book.
I know I’m not the only one who feels that way, but I understand why this subtle subtitle change is coming in 2026, and that’s because of a new law in Washington.
The John Waldo Act & Washington State Law
Under the John Waldo Act (ESSB 5486), a new law that will require all Washington movie theatres to offer open-caption screenings each week. The new law is to make the theatre experience more enjoyable for deaf and hard-of-hearing viewers.
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As someone who is technically 80% deaf (I believe I hear fine, but put me in one of those tone tests, and I fail them every single time), I do appreciate that this is an option for different movies.
The breakdown of the law requirements goes like this:
- Bigger theaters will have to offer open-caption (subtitles) films during a movie’s first two weeks of opening (if the movie plays at least five times in the theater).
- At least one of those times needs to be during PEAK HOURS (usually 6p – 11p on Fridays, and 11:30a – 11p on Saturday & Sundays).
- After the first 2 weeks, theaters will need to offer at least one weekly peak-hour subtitled showing.
- When it comes to smaller theaters, they can either follow the same rules as the bigger theaters or provide a subtitled showing if requested, within 8 days of the request.
- If the film does not offer subtitles or if it’s a private screening room, they are excluded from the new mandate.
If you see on theater posters and websites “OC”, then you know that the film at that time will contain subtitles or Open-Caption. And this will not take away from the personal captioning devices that most theaters already have in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.
Why Is It Called The John Waldo Act
The new law is called the John Waldo Act as so to honor of the attorney and hearing-access advocate, John Waldo, who sadly passed away in 2023.
How Do You Think The Public Will React To The New Law
I think people who do not need the subtitles will be annoyed, but we’ll get over it fast. I include this because of a recent experience I had. There is an Anime movie called Chainsaw Man that was recently in theaters. Every trailer I saw was in English, and when I finally got to the theater, all the dialogue was in Japanese, and subtitles were on.
The film was offered in an English dub, but not at our particular theater. I was annoyed and almost left to get a refund, but I really wanted to watch the movie, and so I sat there. I enjoyed the film, and during the action scenes when reading wasn’t necessary, I was able to visually “tune” it out.
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On the flipside, I have many friends who leave the captions on all the time when watching shows. Some do it for their children, to help them learn (or appreciate) the art of reading, and others just have it on, for no particular reason.
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