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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Commercials before the movie...

Tom Lowe

Tom Lowe

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I tried to see the Michael Jackson movie at a Cinemark theater today, but before the trailers even rolled, I was subjected to over 6 minutes of COMMERCIALS. I'm not talking about the "pre show" nonsense they have been pulling for years. I'm talking about after the time the movie was set to play, but before the trailers, they started playing regular old TV spots for shoes, home repairs, cell phones, etc.

:mad:

There is no way I'm going to sit through that. I won't even sit through 2 minutes of ads on my TV. Six minutes into this ad barrage (which seemed an eternity), I walked out, found the manager, and asked for my money back.

The theater manager was very sympathetic to my cause. He said, "The studio sends the film to us with those ads bundled, so there is nothing we can do."

"Well you can refuse the movie," was my reply.

The manager was a good guy. He gave me my money back, plus two rain-check tickets.

I don't mind if there is one cine-related ad for Coke, or maybe Shriners hospitals, but from now on I refuse to be subjected to commercials at the theater.
 
I suspect the film industry is trying to gain as much money as possible due to piracy ,maybe next time you should see wheather your movie will have TVCs before you attend so you can go in a bit later , there is also the market now of cinema quality commercials to be made money from so i not so sure its entirely bad i do wish these were however premium spots and not generic
 
Most theaters I've been to allow you to get your money back up to between 20-30 minutes into the film itself. It's not a rule they broadcast but you can ask the theater. I walked out on Diving bell and the butterfly and got a refund over 20 minutes in, I tried to watch it just not a fan, I was at an AMC.
 
Tom, I'm glad to hear you stood up and walked out. One of the things it seems we often forget is that we have a choice to walk out of the theater if the service sucks. I am from a town where there is one theater chain, and several of their screens would consistently have absolutely terrible sound. I would buy a ticket, knowing the sound would suck, in hopes that I could make a dramatic exit getting a refund just so they would realize that some of us care.

If I see these commercials that occur after the scheduled start time of the movie, I'll join you in a protest, and get my money back, even if it means I have to wait outside for my friends to finish watching the movie.
 
I think the best solution is just to show up late. There's not much we can do to get the studios to stop with all the stupid ads, and nothing beats seeing a movie on the big screen if you ask me. So, just show up 5 minutes after the movie's supposed to start I guess?
 
How about the $3.50 additional we were recently charged for the 3-d version of a movie. What a rip. I'm pretty progressive but I wish this country would lose the big-chain mentality and get back to supporting mom & pop shops.
 
Austin Glass said:
Tom, I'm glad to hear you stood up and walked out. One of the things it seems we often forget is that we have a choice to walk out of the theater if the service sucks. I am from a town where there is one theater chain, and several of their screens would consistently have absolutely terrible sound. I would buy a ticket, knowing the sound would suck, in hopes that I could make a dramatic exit getting a refund just so they would realize that some of us care.

If I see these commercials that occur after the scheduled start time of the movie, I'll join you in a protest, and get my money back, even if it means I have to wait outside for my friends to finish watching the movie.
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I like your style, Austin.
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I hear ya Tom. But if in the movie theatre with alot of people I just talk over the ads or i just step out for that extra 15 minute window of fluff.


But i absolutely hate commercials of any kind (no I dont have a TV in my house other than to watch DVDs) - Irony to say as a film person.
 
Force-fed commercials at the movies pisses me off. I'm already paying to see the movie and then they want me to watch the same ads I try to avoid watching with regular network TV. Not all films do this, but it seems that more and more are adopting this trend. Doesn't surprise me with the Michael Jackson film... It's 110% commercialism at it's finest. I'll throw it at the bottom of my Netflix queue at some point.

I haven't walked out due to the commercials, but I've been tempted. I guess I stay because if I was willing to pay $8~10 for a ticket then I must really want to see the movie anyway.
 
I didnt see it. "This is It". But was it laid in with product placements and things/tricks to grow on its own commercialism edge? Yes your right it was Commercialism at its best.. or worse because of the subject matter (from my personal perspective, doing something so fast - like ambulance chasing, to recover costs of booked Michael Jackson concert promotions).
 
As Jeff says, they basically have you held hostage for the ads. With a TV or radio you can turn the channel, but in a theater, you are trapped.
 
been happening in europe for years and years...the horse is out of the barn, time to deal with it. moreover with a larger and larger percentage of commercials being shot on RED, just think of it as a mini red film festival. sorry i am not more sympathetic, but those dreaded commercials pay my mortgage.

dino
 
Usually my buddies and I will sit there and make sarcastic remarks about every ad that pops up. I figure might as well try to have a good time about it.

The idea of walking out is a noble and justly cause, but besides personal dignity, its overall a fruitless effort. Sure, if enough people did it, someone high up would notice a lighter wallet, but let's take a look at who we'd have to convince to take a stand.

The core audiences for these main chains are mostly teenagers, who in most cases take up an entire row with their friends, and all have their smart phones out the entire show anyways, which leads me to believe they don't care what happens before the show. The next group of people are the couples; adult couples, young couples, old couples..etc...They also really don't give a hoot what happens before the movie; most of them are just having a night out on the town, enjoying popcorn, etc. Exceptions to the rule in both cases of course. But in my years of movie attendance, these have been my observations, which leads me to believe that commercialism is here to stay in the movie theater.
 
Craig Ryan said:
The idea of walking out is a noble and justly cause, but besides personal dignity, its overall a fruitless effort.
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Well seeing as how I got my money back plus got two "any time, any show" rainchecks, I figure I came out about 20 greenbacks ahead. :cheers2:
 
That's nothing! In Australia, the feature won't start until a full 20 minutes after the advertised time. I don't even bother showing up on time, unless I know it's going to be a full house.

About 15 minutes of mindless fuzzy ads, many from an SD source, then a few minutes of trailers and finally the feature.

It's far less frustrating if you anticipate it. I settle in, check some emails on the old iPhone, have a chat with whoever I'm with, then at some point a movie comes on. Not a bad day out!

Jim
 
When I was in Germany a few years back, at a large theatre, they played a bunch of ads, then one for ice cream bars, at which point the lights came on and the curtain went down. I was starting to the think the movie was cancelled, when a young fellow came out and started hocking ice cream bars walking through the aisles like it was a baseball game!

I remember sitting there cursing the people who bought the ice cream bars. After all, if nobody ever bought them, they would stop doing it. But, I doubt that would happen, as I keep getting spam emails selling Viagra because at least a few idiots are placing orders!

After everyone who wanted an ice cream bar had one, the lights went back down, the curtain went up, and... they played a few more ads. By my watch, twenty minutes passed before the movie actually began.

It's not all bad, though. At a smaller theatre, my girlfriend at the time had arrived before me, and purchased tickets for us both, as I was running late. Those were the only tickets they sold for that screening, and so the projectionist waited along with my girlfriend and didn't start the movie until I arrived!
 
Tom L said:
As Jeff says, they basically have you held hostage for the ads. With a TV or radio you can turn the channel, but in a theater, you are trapped.
Click to expand...

in australia almost all film sessions start with an ad spruiking the company that sells the advertising space (val morgan or cinevation).

they actually say in the ad, to all the potential advertisers watching in the audience, that cinema provides a "captive audience".

as a projectionist i used to spend many many many hours splicing together large reels of ads. it was not uncommon to have 20+ minutes of ads and trailers for a big blockbuster.
 
hmm... I guess I'm the only one that doesn't mind it; Has never bothered me. Here they actually loop the ads for about 20 minutes (5-10 ads or so on a loop) gets old after the first couple showings but other than that, doesn't really bother me. It seems no different to me then some music venues playing pre-record music before a concert while everybody is arriving at the venue.
 
Just to be clear. I am not talking about the standard "ads" that play for 20 minutes before the movie. These ads are PART OF THE MOVIE. They start after the theater ads. If your show starts at 7pm, these ads start at 7pm. Then you have 15 minutes of trailers after that.
 
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