Researchers at the University of Bristol are studying the appeal of the cinema-watching experience by turning one theater into a biometric laboratory

The new Smart Cinema theater collects biometric data to track in-the-moment reactions to on-screen action. University of Bristol

For decades, movie studios have relied on advance screenings to gauge how audiences respond to in-development films, with viewer reactions informing edits, re-shoots and even changed endings.

Studios typically collect qualitative feedback from written or verbal comments after films end—if audiences in the attention-strapped streaming-age even finish watching.…