If you've ever been sitting in a movie theater where you're so enthralled by the storytelling that you forget you're with a bunch of strangers, there's nothing more thrilling than when the entire audience bursts into applause at an epic moment.
Personally, seeing Avengers: Endgame in theaters and hearing everyone cheer when Captain America says "Avengers assemble" will live rent-free in my mind for the rest of time.
I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share their own similar stories, and people came ready with some pretty amazing core memories:
1. "Original Star Wars movie, 1977. Sold out audience. From the moment of the opening crawl, no one moved or said a word. The floor rumbled every time Darth Vader marched onto the scene. Then Luke hit the target and we all lost our minds, yelling, cheering, popcorn flying everywhere! The standing ovation lasted forever. I was only 10 years old and had never seen anything like it before or since. One of my favorite moments with my dad who passed away nearly 20 years ago now. I still love going to the movies and a packed theater. The bigger the audience the better."
—Selena
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2. "I saw Pulp Fiction twice during its original run in 1994. Both times, the audience was transfixed when Pumpkin and Honey Bunny turned a casual diner chat into an impulsive robbery and ended up applauding during the opening titles."
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3. "Spider-Man: No Way Home. Every time an OG character appeared, everyone went nuts. Charlie Cox as Daredevil, the villains from the previous movies, and, of course, when Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire appeared. Everyone was on their feet and clapping. Of all the screenings I've been to, the audience reaction made this all the more memorable."
—Katie, London
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4. "Selena (1997). I grew up in Corpus Christi, Texas, where Selena is really from. The scene where she goes to L.A. for the Grammys and the lady in the fancy clothing store is rude to her is the scene that got us. [Later in the movie,] Selena calls the sales ladies and says "We don't need the dress," and the entire theater started applauding. It was a pretty great moment from the community she represented, and the community that still loves her."
—Mark, Texas
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5. "When Jennifer Hudson sang "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" in the film Dreamgirls, the audience not only burst into applause but gave her a standing ovation. It was an incredible moment. Hard to believe she placed seventh on American Idol after watching that moment."
—Julie, Michigan
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6. "At the end of Top Gun: Maverick everyone in the theatre clapped. It stands out in my memory because people hardly clap at the end of the movies nowadays."
—Peter, FL
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7. "Took my middle child to go see Rogue One. Right before the opening sequence, I get a text from my wife saying that Carrie Fisher had just passed away. Seeing her digitized at the end of the movie was too much for this '80s kid who grew up adoring Star Wars. I rose to my feet applauding and crying all at the same time. A lot of people must have gotten the same news as I looked around and noticed the entirely sold-out theatre doing the same, wiping away tears as applause filled the entire space."
—Anonymous
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8. "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. You could hear absolute BAWLING throughout the whole theater during the funeral scene and again many, many times. Also, everyone loved Riri, and you could tell. There was a standing ovation that lasted a full minute. Really was one of the best moments of my year."
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9. "The Princess Bride, when even after being stabbed, Inigo gets up and confronts Count Rugen. 'My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.' When Count Rugen turned tail and ran, the audience burst into applause."
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10. "Independence Day. I saw it in a packed theater on opening night. The scene when Bill Pullman gave the speech before going in a dog fight against the aliens had the entire crown on their feet like they were ready to kick some alien ass! It was awesome!"
"Independence Day with Will Smith. Area 51 is located in Lincoln County, NV and I was at the only movie theater in the county in Pioche, NV. A lot of locals work at Area 51. Everyone knows someone who works there. When the president and the main characters in the movie fly into Area 51, everyone started clapping and cheering. A bunch of people even stood up to clap. It was like our little quiet corner of the Nevada desert had suddenly made it big."
—Peter
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11. "The original Rocky. The last scene when he [fought] against Apollo Creed. He was the underdog and didn’t win but he never gave up. Kept getting knocked down but kept getting back up. I was 11 and didn’t really get it but now I do. The adults were on their feet cheering and yelling."
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12. "Get Out. An experience I’ll never forget because the audience was so active. We all applauded when Rod saved the day."
—Anonymous
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13. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 when Molly Weasley defeats Bellatrix. Loudest cheers I have ever heard and one of my all-time favorite movie moments ever."
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14. "Avengers: Endgame. Started with Cap lifting the hammer and just kept going until the credits ended."
"Avengers: Endgame when Cap says 'Avengers assemble.' The theater went BONKERS!!!"
—Anonymous
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15. "When Misery first came out, I was 10 and snuck in to see it. The theater was packed and it was essentially silent the entire movie after the initial crash and 'rescue.' Everyone went wild when the sheriff was killed, then Paul Sheldon lifted up his typewriter and slashed it over Annie Wilkes' head and the ENTIRE theater went OFF. It was amazing!"
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16. "John Wick: Chapter Four. During the film's climax, John has to fight his way up a long set of stairs but keeps falling down them because of the Marquis's right-hand man. When he finally won the fight and climbed to the top of the stairs after suffering all those repeated grueling setbacks, the entire audience erupted in cheers."
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17. "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King. There were a number of stand-up-and-cheer moments but perhaps the loudest was when Eowyn faces off against the Witch King. When he brazenly boasts that "no man can kill me," she removes her helmet, revealing her true identity, and replies, 'I am no man!' before killing him. That got the crowd roaring."
—Bear, Bay Area
"At the end of The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King when Frodo wakes up after destroying the ring. The characters come into the room one at a time and each was applauded, but when Sam enters, the applause was huge. Everyone recognized he is the true hero of the series."
—Marc, Cincinnati
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18. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It was just Arnold and his line was 'I’m back.' The entire theater cheered. It was loud.
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19. "I grew up in a football town, so Varsity Blues was a huge deal when it came out. When it got to the part where Billy Bob tells the coach he will literally beat him to death if he injects a painkiller into his hurt teammate so he can keep playing with an injury, the whole theater started cheering and clapping."
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20. "Argo. The moment the plane took off the entire theatre started applauding. I had only seen people applaud at the end of movies before but not actually during a moment in the movie. It was really memorable for me."
—Anonymous
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21. "I’m from Wisconsin and my younger sister and I went to see Titanic in theaters when we were in high school. During the scene where Jack meets Rose on the back of the ship, he tells her he grew up in Wisconsin, near Chippewa Falls. The whole audience, us included, went nuts!"
—Elizabeth
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22. "Robinhood: Prince of Thieves when Sean Connery made his cameo at the end. Place went nuts."
—Anonymous
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23. "Tim Burton's 1989 Batman. It was that moment towards the end when the Batplane flies up through the clouds in front of the moon, making the Batman symbol in the sky. The whole theater stood up and clapped. It was the only time I ever saw a standing ovation at a movie."
—Anonymous
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24. "This Is The End. When everyone makes it to Heaven, the Backstreet Boys appear and start performing “Everybody (Backstreet’s Back)”. The whole theater burst into applause. Not even sure why. I guess it’s a bit of '90s/2000s nostalgia."
—Michele, Texas
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25. "Apollo 13. Although most of us in the theater had lived through that time, when that capsule breaks through the blackout, the theater erupted and cheered for at least a minute. Even though we knew how it turned out, we still got all wrapped up in it. One of my best feel-good moments ever."
—Rosemary, Fresno
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26. "When Taylor Lautner took off his shirt in New Moon."
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Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.