[couple154]

...of the cinema screen?

[Sabriel452]

to stay out of the way of the film. who wants to watch a movie with words all over the character's faces?

[son_of_lemrac]

this is probably because it is easier to read. The is usually little action happening at the bottom of the screen abd the backgroud is usually darker then the rest of the screen. though this not always the case. In the series Heroes, the subtitles of the characters Hiro and his friend are centre screen, resembling a comic book.

[Georgie]

For the hearing impaired.

[F.W.]

It seems like there is usually room for words at the bottom instead of the top... for example, peoples' heads are at the top of the screen and there midsections are at the bottom, so it's better to put the words at the bottom instead of across their foreheads.

[kenmauiphoto]

So the faces aren't covered up.l

[MovieGeek]

They are normally at the bottom of the screen, but lately in TV shows and movies, they are appearing elsewhere. In the TV show "Heroes" subtitles often appear in the part of the screen where there's very little to see. This takes much more planning by the crew, but I think it's more fun as a viewer.

[Feetie]

That is where your eyes drift normally.

[michael d]

They are at the bottom of the screen because that is where they have always been. We know where to expect them to be . If they started putting them in different places we would be distracted from the film trying to look at them.

[iz_es]

wow common sense dude common sense whereelse would it be? on the faces in the way of you watching the movie? if it was on top then it wouldnt be called sub titles on the side would be hard to readso it is common sense to put it under where there is space and not in the way of the viewers watching the movieDUH!