I recently attended a movie at the Riviera Theatre, the 2026 South Korean movie Hope. I was really concerned about how loud the scenes were over and over. I ran a sound decibel meter on my iPhone, NIOSH SLM, for about 20 minutes. The loudest reading was 128. That level is consistent with jackhammers and gunshots, and can cause permanent hearing loss. Movies theaters have a responsibility to do a better job of protecting their patrons from too high sound levels.
