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"Pre-movie ads rip off theatergoers, suits claim."

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"Pre-movie ads rip off theatergoers, suits claim."

Old 02-20-03, 01:52 AM
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Those of you in LA should check out the new Archlight. They have no commercials, no movie trivia, no slides, no reel-tunes! Plus, they guarantee the best moviegoing experience (projection and audio) in town.

Of course, you pay $13, sometimes even for a matinee. I think it's worth it, though.
Old 02-20-03, 02:19 AM
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As for poor movie theaters being on the brink of bankruptcy - too bad. The big theater chains, the ones that stomped the few remaining mom&pop theaters to death a la Blockbuster(at least around here), are too expensive already, too noisy, too inconvenient. If they want to degrade the quality of the film going experience even more, go ahead, I'll just stay home more. That's one of your best weapons as a consumer/patron - boycott. Wait, buy the DVD, stay home and save time and money. I'm doing it more and more these days. Sony, Leows, Hollywood Studios - they can all just go crap in a hat.

On the other hand, I just might be willing to shell out the extra lettuce to go to one of those theaters that doesn't allow children, and/or shows no commercials, and/or is hardcore on talking, cell phones, etc. I could see paying for that, though it's sad because it's really what the movie experience should be/used to be for everyone anyway, without the inflated price

-Gunshy
Old 02-20-03, 02:52 AM
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Originally posted by Seantn
How much do your tickets currently cost? Mine cost at least 9 bucks for a night time show here in Los Angeles. Commercials ARE NOT keeping ticket prices down.
And as stated before, Unless the film has legs, the theater doesn't see much of that box office intake. the amount movie tickets have been raised is small considering how much is needed to actually keep a theater afloat. read the next post in the thread

Originally posted by Mike
Those of you in LA should check out the new Archlight. They have no commercials, no movie trivia, no slides, no reel-tunes! Plus, they guarantee the best moviegoing experience (projection and audio) in town.

Of course, you pay $13, sometimes even for a matinee. I think it's worth it, though.
see, you can have that perfect film going experience. I have been to the archlight, it's great, but you have to be willing to spend the 13 bucks to get that experience.. so yes, those commercials ARE keeping the cost down. Now realize how awful most theaters are in finacial standings and realize that those ad's are needed. Not to mention to upgrade equipment with the whole rise of more DLP theaters.

Choose your theaters wisely.
Old 02-20-03, 10:07 AM
  #29  
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This is but one reason why I go to maybe one movie a year.

Movies that don't start for 20 minutes after the posted time because of commercials and bad trailers are a joke.
Old 02-20-03, 12:03 PM
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I've noticed that Carmike actually starts the commercials a little before showtime, so if you show up at 7 for 7 p.m. film, you'll probably have missed all the ads that aren't previews.
Old 02-20-03, 12:59 PM
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I hate the commercials as well but my favorite theater had to start showing a few before the movie for economic reasons. I would much rather sit through a few advertisements than have the theater close.

These lawsuits are stupid. Obviously, these people have too much time on their hands.
Old 02-20-03, 02:45 PM
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Actually I noticed Regal (Formerly our lovely Edwards) now shows the 20 minutes of commericals BEFORE the start of the movie. The last movie I saw with the 20 minutes after the start time was TTT which also started 20 minutes late = Movie starting at 40 minutes after it was suppose to.

But they now advertise, "get to the theater 30 minutes early, to see the 20 minutes of commerials" (or something like that)
Old 02-20-03, 03:39 PM
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What next? People suing because their 30 minute television program is actually 22 minutes, with 8 minutes of commercials intermingled?
Old 02-20-03, 06:21 PM
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Our theaters are running roughly 7 to 8 bucks for evening shows. If I remember correctly (and a previous post reminded me), Regal is showing all commercials before the listed start time, then starting previews at the start time. Muvico, however, starts their ads at the start time, followed by the trailers etc.

Someone out there suggested that we boycott the theaters that show these ads if we don't like it, but its not realistic for those of us who want to see the movies when they come out. My roomie suggested that perhaps we could boycott the products being advertised as a way to let them know we don't appreciate the fact that we're forced to watch these previews. Yes, ultimately, I feel like I am forced to watch these.

Show up later and just miss the ads? As someone suggested before, what if the ads are not as long, then you may miss the open of the show. Worse than that, I don't want to have poor seats. In order to get decent seats, I find it best to get there about a half hour early (if its a flick that's come out very recently and will be rather popular).

So can anyone actually list the percentages etc that theaters have to give up on opening weekend to the studios etc.? I'm just curious to see what it is. I have a hard time believing that the theaters are not making enough money off of the bodies showing up at the shows at 8 bucks a pop. Not to mention the concession stand prices. I could be a bit happier if they dropped those prices, then I could just bury my face in the popcorn til the ads were over.

On a different note, but still on topic, I've been reading a book called "A Year at the Movies" by Kevin Murphy (who plays Tom Servo of MST3K fame). There's a chapter in there called "Show Up Late Or Suffer", all about this advertising crap. Well, this post is long enough, I'll create a thread of the same name, since its kind of long, and if the mods feel the need to merge it into this thread, that's cool.
Old 02-20-03, 06:58 PM
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http://www.howstuffworks.com/movie-distribution4.htm

The movie itself is considered a loss leader by the theater owner: It is meant to get people into the theater. The theater makes its money selling refreshments to the movie audience. That's why concessions are so expensive -- without the profits generated by things like popcorn and soda, most theaters could not afford to stay in business

Hard to believe? Considering the time span where most films had No legs, theaters lost big. This was a time after which more theaters opened and so the theaters made a mistake on their part to expand more. this is all steps that happened in which we are in the state we are in.. high ticket prices (really, not to much higher if you think about it) and the need to get revenue from other means such as the ad space.

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