Marcus O'Fallon Cinema — Attraction in O'Fallon

This theater has a lot going for it, but it also has some serious issues that need to be addressed. I’ll start with what they get right.

Ticket prices are very reasonable, and they frequently run promotions that make seeing a movie affordable. They also do a great job offering unique events. From mystery movie nights to full marathons of major franchises like Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter, plus classic movie months, they actually make an effort to keep things fresh and fun.

The concessions menu is another strength. Unlike most theaters that stop at popcorn and candy, this one offers burgers, fried pickles, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, and pretzels. The variety is impressive and gives people more options if they want an actual meal.

Seating is excellent. All the theaters have full recliners, and several even have heated seats. No outdated fold-down chairs. Comfort is definitely a priority here, and I appreciate that.

Now for the downsides. And the biggest one, by far, is the cleanliness. It is consistently bad. The seat crevices are often stuffed with old popcorn, wrappers, and sometimes worse. It feels like no one checks between shows. I have found melted candy, greasy napkins, and even random objects that clearly had been sitting there for a while. You can tell when you’re the first person to lift a recliner that hasn’t been cleaned in days. It is genuinely gross. I never wear new or nice clothes here anymore because there’s a real risk of coming home with oil or butter stains. For a place that offers premium seating and higher-end concessions, the lack of basic cleanliness is unacceptable.

The concession wait times are also a problem. It took us nearly 25 minutes to get food on our last visit, and we missed the beginning of the movie. They had multiple registers but only two lines open. That seems to be a pattern, not a one-off.

Concession pricing is steep. A burger or chicken sandwich will run you close to $20, and two people can easily spend $60. The food is decent but not worth what they charge. The refillable popcorn bucket helps if you visit often, but it does not make up for the inflated prices across the menu.

Temperature control is hit or miss. Sometimes it’s too cold, other times too hot. One movie had the HVAC switching between the two throughout the show. It was distracting and unnecessary. Just set it slightly cool and let it be.

In summary, the theater offers comfort, creativity, and decent value on tickets. But the cleanliness drags the entire experience down. Until that is taken seriously, it will always feel like a theater that looks good on paper but falls short...

WARNING: ⚠️ This is a long post! So we decide to have date night and frequent our local movie theater, Marcus Theaters in O’Fallon. We invested in the popcorn bucket which is suppose to save you money and we also brought our Marcus Theatre SpiderMan Homecoming plastic cups to purchase drinks as well. At the snack stand, the cashier tells me that the SpiderMan cups are only refillable on the day of purchase. Okay, I want the large popcorn and two large drinks. The total came out to $10.89, I used my reward cash to bring the total down to $5.89! He asked if we wanted our receipt, to which we said yes! We go over to the soda machine and select our drinks. As we are heading towards our theater one of the managers approached us. He didn’t greet us, he immediately starts to tell us that our cups are not refillable. To which I answered Yes, I understand the cashier told us but we were charged for drinks! He proceeds to tell us about the refill drink policy of the theater; to where I said “would you like to see my receipt?” The popcorn refill is $4.00 correct? He replies, Yes! We paid for an ultimate refill at $10.00. Which means he charged us $3.00 for each drink!!!!! As he is examining the receipt he says, “Well, I am not sure what he charged you for but those cups are not refillable?!?!” Again, Isaac we paid for refreshments if your cashier didn’t charge us correctly you need to have some training. This action and his approach made us feels as though we had stolen drinks!!!! Isaac the Theater Manager also needs some customer service training. You don’t approach customers the way he did. There is a certain way to approach customers and inform them of certain policies. His way was not correct!!! Not a good look for Marcus...

I have never had a bad experience at a Marcus Theater until this Tuesday. The new rules don't make sense and the customer service in response was rude. I bought tickets online and went to what was my first movie since the pandemic shut down the theaters. I went to get food and was told I had to order online, but we had brought cash specifically for food....which we were told that they could not accept cash. It was at that time I noticed that the free popcorn was just set out on a table and children without masks were allowed to walk up and pick up a bag...which some kids picked up a bag and set it back down before picking up a second. I also noticed that even though all food and drinks were supposed to be ordered online, after you ordered you had to fill your own cup....after the app makes you pick which flavor you want....and now everyone is congregating around the drink machines without social distancing and able to get their own lids and straws...which has people put their hands all over. I attempted to order food online, but the app crashed and wouldn't complete my payment several times. What is the point of ordering food on the app and not accepting cash if you are going to sit free popcorn out so everyone can put their hands on it and allow everyone to get drinks at the fountain? I asked these questions and I was told to blame the state requirements, which is dumb because any establishment that serves food would have to follow the same rules...but none have these contradictions. When the app kept crashing I finally asked for my money back and left. Marcus, you need rules that actually make sense, and don't try to blame it on state regulations when your actions...