
New Law Proposed to Stop Wasting Moviegoers’ Time
By Movieguide® Contributor
Connecticut state senator Martin Looney proposed a bill to improve the moviegoing experience, requiring theaters to list the time the movie actually starts, rather than when the ads will begin.
Bill No. 797 would “require that each movie advertisement or listing include, and separately list, the scheduled start time for (1) the movie trailers and advertisements that precede the advertised or listed movie, and (2) the advertised or listed movie.”
“It seems to be an abuse of people’s time,” Looney told The Register Citizen while discussing the ads shown before movies. “If [audiences] want to get there early and watch the promos, they can. But if they just want to see the feature, they ought to be able to get there just in time for that.”
“I got a couple of calls from constituents who said that they went to the theater a few times and the feature did not start for a considerable period of time after the advertised starting time,” Looney added. “It does seem to me that people are, in effect, a sort of captive audience watching the advertising before they get to see the feature they came to see.”
While the bill would benefit audiences if it were passed, it might have a significant negative impact on the theater business, which relies on supplemental income through these ads. This is especially true for small, independent theaters that are already struggling to keep their doors open.
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Box office sales may finally be recovering after the pandemic, but total ticket sales are still massively down after a significant portion of the population permanently changed their movie habits, opting to watch from the comfort of their homes, even if they have to wait a couple of extra months.
Major theater chain AMC already warns audiences that the movies don’t actually start at the listed start time, telling patrons to “please allow approximately 20 extra minutes for pre-shows and trailers before the show starts,” per IndieWire.
“This is kind of a strange bill,” said Peter H. Gistenlinck, executive director at the Avon Theatre in Stamford, CT. “We, as an independent movie house, are financially dependent on our previews as well as our overall messaging, including commercials. We always announce the start time of our screenings so that our patrons can enjoy the whole experience.”
“Announcing the start time of the actual movie would definitely disincentivize our business partners’ video messaging which would have a direct negative impact on our financial stability in an already so challenging environment,” Gistenlinck continued.
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