Why am I paying to watch commercials?

[ForeverAutumn]

We went to see the DaVinci Code on Sunday night. It was okay. Nothing special IMO.

There was, at least, ten minutes of commercials before the Coming Soon trailers even started. I'm used to a commercial or two, I don't like it but I understand the need for the additional revenue...but ten minutes worth?! That's really testing my patience.

[kexodusc]

I think the theatres justify that as free bonus content, so you aren't paying for it.

It's just another medium, another venue for advertisers to reach you and another way for the theatres to make a buck.

Usually I see people continue to talk and ignore the commercials. It's a real problem on TV, advertisements are become less and less effective and more people are channel surfing or using PVR to skip them.

Not much you can do really, unless you go Homer Simpson in there - "Start the movie! Start the movie!"

[ForeverAutumn]

Not much you can do really, unless you go Homer Simpson in there - "Start the movie! Start the movie!"

Don't think I didn't consider it! And I might have done it if I thought that there was anyone around (from the theatre) who cared.

[GMichael]

Start the movie!

What the @#%$? Start the movie!

[L.J.]

Hmm......that's about the time I start emptying my flask into my soda. Dang ads and what not takes soooo long that I'm tipsy by the time the movie starts. Like Kex mentioned, we usually go about our business laughing and talking until show time.

[Kam]

i cant see why a class-action law suit wouldnt work against them. (i thought i remember roger ebert instigating one against one of the chains) it doesnt make any sense for BOTH ticket prices and commercial time to rise. it means that we are paying the theaters more AND they are making more from the commercials... so... more profit to them... less of a movie experience for us... hmmm... yeah, i'd say that's about the right consumer mentality. it'd be like commercials for honda on hbo. the only commercials you see on hbo, are for hbo shows. which is what it should be in the movies. the only commercials in the theater, should be trailers for other movies. you pay for the time to be there, just like paying for cable, that's the whole reason why they dont have commercials on cable!!!! and why there should not be commercials in theaters, you're paying them NOT to be there.

right now the only refuge i have is watching movies on the imax. its only a matter of time before commercials find there way in there. i've heard the arclight over on the westcoast doesnt show commercials either.

[dean_martin]

on the bright side, you don't have to rush through dinner. The only recent movie I've seen is Nacho Libre, but I don't remember any commercials unless they were rolling as we made it to our seats. But after paying $8.50, I would've been a little put out too if there had been.

on a similar note, i can't stand the warnings on some dvds that you can't skip over. At least on vhs you could fast forward through the "we're going to bust your door down and haul you off to jail" b.s.

[ForeverAutumn]

on the bright side, you don't have to rush through dinner. The only recent movie I've seen is Nacho Libre, but I don't remember any commercials unless they were rolling as we made it to our seats. But after paying $8.50, I would've been a little put out too if there had been.

on a similar note, i can't stand the warnings on some dvds that you can't skip over. At least on vhs you could fast forward through the "we're going to bust your door down and haul you off to jail" b.s.

$8.50 for a movie is a steal. Movie's around these parts will run you between $11.50 - $13.50 depending on the chain. Unless you go to one of the discount theatre's but those theatres are old and never have enough leg room to sit comfortably for 2.5 hours.

We paid $12.50 a piece to sit through those 10 minutes of commercials. Not to mention the five dollars and change for the popcorn that I could have microwaved at home for a buck. At least I had a choice in buying the popcorn or not.

[Rock&Roll Ninja]

At least on vhs you could fast forward through the "we're going to bust your door down and haul you off to jail" b.s.

Until they found-out people did that, Then they turned the 30-second warning into a five minute warning so you could still read it twice while fast-forwarding.

[RGA]

Well there is one thing I like about living in Korea now when it comes to going to the movies -- actually did I say one -- I meant many things.

1) You buy your ticket and you get assigned seats based on first come first serve -- row N seat 7 (it's based on best seats to worst. You can still move to different seats if the place is empy of course - but I like this system.

2) The movie says it starts at 7:35 and that is EXACTLY when the movie starts -- no previews and no advertising. If you show up 15 minutes early you can watch the previews but thta's up to you -- the movie starts when they damn well tell you that it starts.

3) Movie prices -- 7000 Won (it's cheaper than the big theaters in Canada which run $12.00

4) Concession prices -- Large Popcorn and Large Drink 5000 won for both. Other foods they sell are the same price in the theater as they would be in a grocery store -- so things like Candy are not tripled just because your at the movies. This ALSO applies to sporting events -- A beer bottle or pop can is the same price it would be at the grocery store and not jacked up four fold just to stick it to you.

Going to the Doosan Bears Baseball game - hey it's not MLB but it sure is nice to get 50c ice cream and a $1.20 for a large Coke. Meanwhile it's $7.00 to go to the game and I even splurged and bought a fully glossed and team signed Baseball with ball holder for $3.00. (hell a plain baseball in Canada costs more than that!!

Thats the one thing I like about this country -- they do not hose you on prices at such events. The other interesting thing is that convenience stores are actually often cheaper than the big grocery stores. The cheaper price is because they don't offer as much selection so they are less convenient because you can't get everyhing you want there -- so their view I guess is that they are inconvenenience stores.

[basite]

i guess you pay for the commercials and get the movie as a bonus, and then they expect us to like it. That would also be one of the reasons why people invest loads and loads of money in their home theatres, cuz you don't have to watch the f_cking commercials.

[RGA]

i guess you pay for the commercials and get the movie as a bonus, and then they expect us to like it. That would also be one of the reasons why people invest loads and loads of money in their home theatres, cuz you don't have to watch the f_cking commercials.

Actualy I have bought a few dvd's that have several previews and it is locked -- you HAVE to watch the previews and you can't skip to the next track until it is done -- so they screw you at home too at least some of the time.

[paul_pci]

Actualy I have bought a few dvd's that have several previews and it is locked -- you HAVE to watch the previews and you can't skip to the next track until it is done -- so they screw you at home too at least some of the time.

That is why I always load my DVDs far in advance of when I intend to watch the movie.

[Woochifer]

Like it or not, movie theaters make hardly any money from the box office, so they have to supplement their operations in any way that they can and that's where the ads and overpriced snack bar items come in. Amazing to think that at the core, all of these gigantic megaplexes that have been built are basically glorified convenience stores with the movies serving to drive traffic straight to the concessions stands.

To a large extent, the higher ticket prices are driven by the studios, which grab nearly all of the box office take from the early part of a movie engagement. The theaters keep a higher share of the box office later in the engagement, but the trend over the past decade has been more front-loaded releases to generate big opening weekend numbers. So, by the time the theaters get to keep more of the ticket revenue for themselves, the movie's box office appeal will have waned.

Yeah, the pre-movie ads are annoying, but to some extent it's a necessary evil so that theater owners can keep the lights on. (A lot of theaters have had display ads on screen for years, but more recently with theaters installing digital projection systems, they can now run video ads and those are far more intrusive) Unfortunately, it also adds yet another reason for people to stay away from theaters on top of all the others -- home entertainment alternatives, indifferent presentation quality, rude audiences, etc. Moreover, a lot of the theater chains expanded way too quickly in the 90s, and are now saddled down with debt that forces them to scrounge for extra revenue.

All I know is that moviegoing is much more a generic experience than before. That's why I often save my moviegoing for my trips down to L.A., so I can take advantage of the many single-screen showcase theaters that still operate down there. Yeah, they do show ads before the movie, but the special experience that those theaters offer (not to mention the state-of-the-art projection and sound systems) make it more worthwhile than seeing them at some generic megaplex.

[Worf101]

Like it or not, movie theaters make hardly any money from the box office, so they have to supplement their operations in any way that they can and that's where the ads and overpriced snack bar items come in. Amazing to think that at the core, all of these gigantic megaplexes that have been built are basically glorified convenience stores with the movies serving to drive traffic straight to the concessions stands.

To a large extent, the higher ticket prices are driven by the studios, which grab nearly all of the box office take from the early part of a movie engagement. The theaters keep a higher share of the box office later in the engagement, but the trend over the past decade has been more front-loaded releases to generate big opening weekend numbers. So, by the time the theaters get to keep more of the ticket revenue for themselves, the movie's box office appeal will have waned.

Yeah, the pre-movie ads are annoying, but to some extent it's a necessary evil so that theater owners can keep the lights on. (A lot of theaters have had display ads on screen for years, but more recently with theaters installing digital projection systems, they can now run video ads and those are far more intrusive) Unfortunately, it also adds yet another reason for people to stay away from theaters on top of all the others -- home entertainment alternatives, indifferent presentation quality, rude audiences, etc. Moreover, a lot of the theater chains expanded way too quickly in the 90s, and are now saddled down with debt that forces them to scrounge for extra revenue.

All I know is that moviegoing is much more a generic experience than before. That's why I often save my moviegoing for my trips down to L.A., so I can take advantage of the many single-screen showcase theaters that still operate down there. Yeah, they do show ads before the movie, but the special experience that those theaters offer (not to mention the state-of-the-art projection and sound systems) make it more worthwhile than seeing them at some generic megaplex.

I've two good friends that own the local "art" theatre here into. The don't even touch most major releases cause they don't make any money on them. They make their money on small indie releases that "go large". For instance, they made a killing on "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" cause it wasn't front loaded and word of mouth kept the theatre full for months. Same thing with "The Crying Game" and "Donnie Darko". That's how they make money.. Also, in that they are NOT a chain... they can sell any kinda food they want. I often go by the Spectrum Theatre (www.Spectrum8.com) just to get fresh popcorn WITH REAL HEART CLOGGING CHOLESTEROL LADEN BUTTER!!!!!

Ohhh butter...

Da Worfster

[kexodusc]

A movie theater chain we hold in my company's portfolio doesn't even make much return on capital, all things considered. They've become the glorified gas stations of the entertainment industry - their wholesale costs are so high that they have to price gouge on the concessions just to make a buck - and they keep movies for a shorter duration than ever now - it's asses in seats to buy popcorn or bust for them.

This company claims it's concession sales have been steadily declining for 3 years now too, but this past year was abnormally large - health concious eating and exorbitant prices have pretty much disciplined the audience to not order popcorn at the theaters. The prices are set to maximize revenue - so they'll continue to gouge those of us that continue to pay $8 for popcorn and $4 for coke. Lowering prices doesn't increase the much at all apparently.

Even more discouraging is the recent box-office woes the industry's had.

This spells trouble to me - we're going to see fewer cinemas making a go of it, and more demand for limited seating, unless Hollywood wisens up and realizes that the films themselves are only a PORTION of the "movie going experience". Time for Hollywood to share the wealth - it's in their best interest.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I went to the theater (the first time in two years) and I was pretty shocked at the amount of commercials and previews there were. I got my seat at 10:40am and the first commercial started at exactly 10:45am. The movie finally started at 11:00am, a full fifteen minutes of commercials and previews. I talked through it all.

[Woochifer]

A movie theater chain we hold in my company's portfolio doesn't even make much return on capital, all things considered. They've become the glorified gas stations of the entertainment industry - their wholesale costs are so high that they have to price gouge on the concessions just to make a buck - and they keep movies for a shorter duration than ever now - it's asses in seats to buy popcorn or bust for them.

This company claims it's concession sales have been steadily declining for 3 years now too, but this past year was abnormally large - health concious eating and exorbitant prices have pretty much disciplined the audience to not order popcorn at the theaters. The prices are set to maximize revenue - so they'll continue to gouge those of us that continue to pay $8 for popcorn and $4 for coke. Lowering prices doesn't increase the much at all apparently.

Even more discouraging is the recent box-office woes the industry's had.

This spells trouble to me - we're going to see fewer cinemas making a go of it, and more demand for limited seating, unless Hollywood wisens up and realizes that the films themselves are only a PORTION of the "movie going experience". Time for Hollywood to share the wealth - it's in their best interest.

Good summation.

I remember reading last year about the havoc that the Atkins diet had created for movie theaters. Problem is that the low carb offerings did not sell very well -- apparently, people wanted all or nothing.

Another problem for movie theaters is that frankly they're overbuilt in most markets right now. The number of screens right now is more than double the total from 1990. For creating land use plans, I've had to lower my market benchmarks by 40% because of how the economics of the industry have changed.

When the major theater chains went on their megaplex construction frenzy, the audiences flocked to the new developments because they liked the stadium seating, the improved presentation quality, having almost all of the current major releases under one roof, etc. But, in addition to all the debt from new construction, the theater chains had to also absorb the costs from their existing neighborhood theaters, which were now playing to empty seats or shuttered altogether. Some chains like Edwards and United Artists declared bankruptcy to get out from under their existing lease obligations. This pockholed a lot of downtown areas that had depended on their neighborhood theaters to bring people in.

I totally agree with you about the moviegoing experience, something definitely has to be done. I know that I personally go to theaters less often now because the whole experience has gotten to be a cattle call. Audiences are ruder than ever, the presentation quality is often indifferent, everything is now overly generic, etc.

I think that the Arclight Cinemas in Hollywood point to an example of how things can be done. That theater is a 12-screen multiplex that was built around the Cinerama Dome. The theaters are state-of-the-art and feature reserved seating, big priority on customer service, a bar area with select 21+ screenings, and a lot of special film festival events. The tickets indeed are more expensive for these perks, but a side benefit to this is that the theater tends to attract more knowledgeable and less obnoxious audiences. I've heard that some theaters have begun experimenting with reserved seating, and I know of a few theaters that also serve alcohol. Some other theaters have started marketing their smaller theaters as "director's rooms" or "screening rooms" with sofas and/or extra wide leather chairs.

Whether or not these approaches have generated higher profits, I have no idea. But, I think the demographics look good for these kinds of new approaches, because the market for everything else in retail is pointing towards higher demand for more upscale alternatives as the population ages and the proportion of households with no kids increases.

[Woochifer]

I saw Cars at the Arclight in Hollywood last night. That theater really gets it! No commercials before the feature, and they take care of every other little detail. The trade off is higher peak period ticket prices ($14 for Friday and Saturday night; $11 for all other times), but how many of us would be willing to pay $3-$4 more for a step up in presentation quality and a more enjoyable and commercial-free moviegoing experience? Some of my other impressions were posted earlier ...

T2: Greatest Sequel of all Time.

[ForeverAutumn]

I saw Cars at the Arclight in Hollywood last night. That theater really gets it! No commercials before the feature, and they take care of every other little detail. The trade off is higher peak period ticket prices ($14 for Friday and Saturday night; $11 for all other times), but how many of us would be willing to pay $3-$4 more for a step up in presentation quality and a more enjoyable and commercial-free moviegoing experience? Some of my other impressions were posted earlier ...

T2: Greatest Sequel of all Time.

I'd be willing to pay a couple bucks more to lose the commercials. I get enough commercials everywhere else. Not just the usual TV and Radio and the elevators in all the downtown office towers (where many of my customers are), but lately many gas stations have added screens onto the gas pumps so that you can watch commercials while you pump gas, and last week I peeked into the window of a public bus that was stopped beside me and there was about a 20" screen behind the driver running commercials!! You just can't get away from them anymore.

[paul_pci]

Are you guys actually listening to yourselves!!? You'd pay more for something we shouldn't be experiencing to begin with? That's total lunacy! Why give over the integrity of business practices to the movie theaters and to the studios? Are we nothing but sheep at the mercy of their every whim. Indulge me in an atrocious analogy. It's like if the police stop patrolling a particular street so that every time you traverse said street you get robbed (think Deathwish). And after a while you stipulate, yes, I'd pay more taxes to get the police to patrol that street again! Well, they should be patrolling it to begin with. We get commercials on broadcast tv becaause it's free, and therefore, the revenue stream for the networks. We pay to go to the movie theater because that's their revenue stream. Commercials add insult to the injurious prices of the box office. Sorry, I won't ever profess to pay more just so the theaters won't do what they shouldn't do to begin with.

[cmullen8]

i cant see why a class-action law suit wouldnt work against them. (i thought i remember roger ebert instigating one against one of the chains) it doesnt make any sense for BOTH ticket prices and commercial time to rise. it means that we are paying the theaters more AND they are making more from the commercials... so... more profit to them... less of a movie experience for us... hmmm... yeah, i'd say that's about the right consumer mentality. it'd be like commercials for honda on hbo. the only commercials you see on hbo, are for hbo shows. which is what it should be in the movies. the only commercials in the theater, should be trailers for other movies. you pay for the time to be there, just like paying for cable, that's the whole reason why they dont have commercials on cable!!!! and why there should not be commercials in theaters, you're paying them NOT to be there.

right now the only refuge i have is watching movies on the imax. its only a matter of time before commercials find there way in there. i've heard the arclight over on the westcoast doesnt show commercials either.

IIRC the season finale of The Sopranos (maybe it was the one before that) was an infomercial for the Porsche Cayenne.

[Woochifer]

Are you guys actually listening to yourselves!!? You'd pay more for something we shouldn't be experiencing to begin with? That's total lunacy! Why give over the integrity of business practices to the movie theaters and to the studios? Are we nothing but sheep at the mercy of their every whim. Indulge me in an atrocious analogy. It's like if the police stop patrolling a particular street so that every time you traverse said street you get robbed (think Deathwish). And after a while you stipulate, yes, I'd pay more taxes to get the police to patrol that street again! Well, they should be patrolling it to begin with. We get commercials on broadcast tv becaause it's free, and therefore, the revenue stream for the networks. We pay to go to the movie theater because that's their revenue stream. Commercials add insult to the injurious prices of the box office. Sorry, I won't ever profess to pay more just so the theaters won't do what they shouldn't do to begin with.

I'm not saying that I would pay extra JUST to avoid the advertisements. But, if you read my summation of how the Arclight Cinema does things, I think the total package that they offer to customers is worth the extra price that they charge for tickets, and could be a model for other theaters to follow. $14 for Friday and Saturday night is not excessive when a ticket at that theater provides so much more value than a suburban megaplex that might have a more indifferent attitude towards presentation quality and customer service.

Also, I don't necessarily agree that theaters SHOULDN'T put ads on screen. If they do, and it's enough of a nuisance, then we all have the choice not to patronize those theaters that run commercials (although admittedly, that's getting very hard to avoid nowadays). For me, commercials are far less intrusive than cell phones, chatters, and mediocre presentation quality. Those things, among others, have kept me away from movie theaters more than the proliferation of pre-show advertising, though the commercials definitely provide yet another disincentive to go to the theater. It's interesting because I remember when the first pre-feature commercials were tried in the early-80s, the audiences used to roundly boo them and the theaters that ran them withdrew them shortly thereafter. It seems that audiences today are less resistant to commercials in general, since so many other things have increasingly commercialized in the ensuing decades. Think about it, most of us with cable or satellite service are paying extra to watch channels with advertising.

[Troy]

Commercials before the movie is just one of the myriad reasons why I don't go to the movies much anymore. It's the ads for the bad TV shows that kill me. What IS this garbage!?!

Previews for movies? I like 'em. Totally logical, a long standing tradition. But filmed ads for Coke, Microsoft, Chevy and the diarrhea that passes for network sitcoms gotta go.

And they wonder why movie attendance is way down. Idjits.

I can wait for the DVD and watch it on my HT rig, thanks.

[ForeverAutumn]

Are you guys actually listening to yourselves!!? You'd pay more for something we shouldn't be experiencing to begin with? That's total lunacy! Why give over the integrity of business practices to the movie theaters and to the studios? Are we nothing but sheep at the mercy of their every whim. Indulge me in an atrocious analogy. It's like if the police stop patrolling a particular street so that every time you traverse said street you get robbed (think Deathwish). And after a while you stipulate, yes, I'd pay more taxes to get the police to patrol that street again! Well, they should be patrolling it to begin with. We get commercials on broadcast tv becaause it's free, and therefore, the revenue stream for the networks. We pay to go to the movie theater because that's their revenue stream. Commercials add insult to the injurious prices of the box office. Sorry, I won't ever profess to pay more just so the theaters won't do what they shouldn't do to begin with.

You're absolutely right. Thanks for helping me back onto the right track.

We just switched over to digital cable which has a couple of thousand movies On-Demand. I don't even have to leave the house to go to the video store anymore (one step closer to my goal of becoming a total shut-in). Although, I do like the overall theatre experience, the cost, the commercials, and having On-demand service are all good reasons to stay home.