I agree. We go the movies fairly often. At least twice a month, and I have seldom (maybe twice in the last four years) heard a cell phone ring. It was quickly turned off by the person receiving the call.
However, with that being said, I have two teenagers who I need to be available to. They are both great at keeping in touch, plus I want to know if they have any problems, accidents, etc. I keep my phone on vibrate, plus I can receive text messages. In the last four years I have been "messaged" that my elder son was in the emergency room and also received a call that my younger son was stranded on the highway with a broken down car.
Theater owners are sadly mistaken that "banning" cell phones or blocking signals will increase their business. I would bet that most parents who are actively involved in their cildren's lives would simply stop going to the movies.
I draw a comparison to anti-gun groups who want more g8un control laws. Just enforce the ones we have and be done with it. If someone is being rude in the theater with a cell phone, the theater should ask them to leave. Case closed. They don't need a special exemption to be able to block the airwaves. I would say this. If someone using a cell phone blocker caused me to miss an important phone call from one of my kids that put them in harms way, there would be a h*ll to pay.
You might be right. The market should decide.