If the film is in "scope", is it being shot in 35mm, and cropped (producing more grain during the blow up), or REAL scope, requiring anamorphic lenses (and becoming a pain in the royal ass for the dude pulling focus)?
In all honestly, there are many directors that don't have the imagination to fill such a wide frame, and resort to cramming everything in the happy 4x3 area, so mom can enjoy it fool-screen.
Other than Royal Tenenbaums and many tv commercials, I can't think of a recent movie that really made use of the whole canvas...well, maybe the matrix trilogy, but they kept switching up the aspect ratios as they went along...
Your solution - go make a 2.4-1 matte box at home, and next time you go to a theatre, put it front of you, so it blocks the top and/or bottom of the movie that's playing in 1.85-1 - then you'll be happy no matter what plays.
