Take a movie theater bathroom break at the perfect time with RunPee app for iPhone

Posted:
in iPhone edited October 2020
This weekend's highly anticipated release of "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" clocks in with an epic-length runtime of 2 hours and 32 minutes. That's a lot of Star Wars action for your eyeballs, but can your bladder handle it? If not, the iPhone app RunPee is here to help.




Before we get started, we'll note that the RunPee app is not exactly a shining example of iOS software development. It's serviceable, but its web-like interface is rather spartan.

But we're not talking about RunPee for its design chops -- this tip is all about practicality, and the RunPee service is certainly unique in the problem it addresses: Ideal bathroom break times during a movie.

In the app, select your movie to find a quick summary of "Peetimes" from a reviewer, who might note that it was tough to find some downtime in a particularly action- or laugh-packed flick.

RunPee is also spoiler-conscious, giving users a vague, out-of-context line of dialogue that precedes the pee break. Movies often have at least two or three listed "Peetimes," and a review often recommends one as the best option to run to the loo.




The app even comes with a built-in timer that can be started when the movie begins, vibrating in the user's pocket when it's an OK time to take a trip to the restroom. Just, please, leave your phone in your pocket so as to not disturb other moviegoers.

While you're doing you business, you can tap on the "Peetime" you took advantage of to get a quick text summary of what you're missing.

The RunPee app goes beyond bathroom breaks, too, offering relevant data for users who might be pressed for time. It lets users know if the film has any bonus content that plays after the credits (count on that if it's a Marvel movie), and it even provides a synopsis of the first three minutes of a film for those who are running late.




RunPee is a free download on the App Store, supported by interstitial ads that display when opening the app or viewing lavatory suggestions.

Users can support the app by buying "Peecoins," "priced at 7 for 99 cents, in bundles up to $3.99. Peecoins remove the ads from the app at a cost of 15 cents per movie. Unfortunately, it apparently does not sync purchases with your iCloud account (remember what we said about design?), so the developer requires that users share their email address in order to purchase "Peecoins."

RunPee requires iOS 6.1 or later, and is a 52.8-megabyte download.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    jbdragonjbdragon Posts: 2,305member
    I've used this app before. It's all right. For me, the smart thing to do is not to eat or drink anything just before or during the movie. Which is good anyway as I don't have to buy over priced food and drinks.

    If you didn't know, you can get a MoviePass subscription for $9.95 a month these days. See any move, at any time, pretty much anywhere. As many as you can watch in a month. So long as it's not 3D or IMAX and you can only see a movie once using it. For me, that's the cost of 1 movie ticket for the first showing before prices go up after that. It's really a great deal. I think you can get a Subscription from Costco for a even lower price paying for a year which I think gets it down to $5 a month or something.

    www.moviepass.com

    I get nothing out of that link. I've been using them for a number of years and was paying $45 a month after it went up in price from $35 a month. For whatever reason, it dropped to $9.95 a month and it's still as good as ever. I still use my Movie Theater Club Card to get free drinks, popcorn and movie tickets. The free movie tickets I'll use if there's something I really want to see in IMAX or 3D, or 3D IMAX. I can use that ticket to reduce the overall price. Then I see it once again a second time for free using MoviePass.
    edited December 2017 sergiozSpamSandwich
  • Reply 2 of 15
    58 megabytes*?  I would have thought that all the data for this would be "in the cloud" and accessed as needed.  So either that's not the case or this is a grossly inefficient app from a resources perspective.  Frankly, I'm surprised this is an app at all, rather than simply a website.

    *For reference, I remember having to install MS Office on my Mac SE back in the day off a huge stack of 30 or 40 floppy disks.  Roughly the same size as this silly little app.
    edited December 2017
  • Reply 3 of 15
    It's already out this past Wednesday here in Netherlands. And we get an intermission at our cinemas, as a rule.
    maclvr03
  • Reply 4 of 15
    Never understood why American cinemas don’t have an intermission. Even a short 10 minute to use the restroom. 
    curtis hannah
  • Reply 5 of 15
    maclvr03 said:
    Never understood why American cinemas don’t have an intermission. Even a short 10 minute to use the restroom. 
    There’d just be very long lines (since people would consume more fluids knowing there was an intermission), and you’d miss a part of the movie anyway. 
    1983nhughes
  • Reply 6 of 15
    I just wound up randomly sitting next to the guy that created this app when I went to see John Wick 2 in Altamonte Springs last winter. He was super polite and explained what he was doing before the movie started to make sure he knew ahead of time that he wouldn’t be disturbing us while he was taking notes before the film started. 
        I use it all the time to see if there are any extra scenes after the credits. I hope the app takes off. Super nice guy.
    seafox1983nhughes
  • Reply 7 of 15
    ktappektappe Posts: 823member
    Make sure you load the app and select the movie before going into the theater. I've been in several theaters in which cellular service was blocked, so you couldn't load the necessary data for the app to work. 
    nhughes
  • Reply 8 of 15
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    Intermissions in my part of the world, so not such a need for this app. Great idea though! If a little comical...
  • Reply 9 of 15
    irelandireland Posts: 17,798member
    There's another app for this, it's called drink two hours before film starts and pee before going in.
    edited December 2017
  • Reply 10 of 15
    ireland said:
    There's another app for this, it's called drink two hours before film starts and pee before going in.
    My theater serves drinks during the film, so...

    Rather brilliantly, sometimes the app has ads for a medicine for enlarged prostate, which can cause men to frequently go to the bathroom. Talk about targeted ads.
  • Reply 11 of 15

    I just wound up randomly sitting next to the guy that created this app when I went to see John Wick 2 in Altamonte Springs last winter. He was super polite and explained what he was doing before the movie started to make sure he knew ahead of time that he wouldn’t be disturbing us while he was taking notes before the film started. 
        I use it all the time to see if there are any extra scenes after the credits. I hope the app takes off. Super nice guy.
    Funny, small world, I used to live in Orlando. Had no clue the creator was local. Glad to hear he tries to be accommodating to other moviegoers while doing his job.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    mknelsonmknelson Posts: 1,118member
    The Fellowship of the Ring ending on that long river scene…  :s
  • Reply 13 of 15
    larryjwlarryjw Posts: 1,031member
    2 hours 32 minutes. Way beyond my capacity to hold it.

    I think I might consider a Stadium Pal. 
  • Reply 14 of 15
    larryjw said:
    2 hours 32 minutes. Way beyond my capacity to hold it.

    I think I might consider a Stadium Pal. 
    There is another alternative to all this, but it involves sitting through a long movie on a very wet seat.
  • Reply 15 of 15
    58 megabytes*?  I would have thought that all the data for this would be "in the cloud" and accessed as needed.  So either that's not the case or this is a grossly inefficient app from a resources perspective.  Frankly, I'm surprised this is an app at all, rather than simply a website.

    *For reference, I remember having to install MS Office on my Mac SE back in the day off a huge stack of 30 or 40 floppy disks.  Roughly the same size as this silly little app.
    It's stored on the phone because more and more theaters are shutting off web connectivity in theaters.  Moviehouse and Eatery is where I see my movies now and I have to update before I get in the theater because when the previews start I have noticed I can no longer get LTE web service.  Could just be terrible luck the last half dozen times I have seen a movie there, but never fails that my scores stop updating and I can't get Peetime updates anymore.  

    I've been using this app for many years now.  I'm a huge fan of it.  If nothing else it quickly tells me if I need to wait until after the credits to see anything. 
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