AMC Warns Moviegoers To Expect '25-30 Minutes' of Ads and Trailers (theverge.com) 115
AMC Theatres now warns customers that movies start 25-30 minutes after the listed showtime to account for ads and trailers, "making it easier for moviegoers to know the actual start time of their film screening," reports The Verge. From the report: Starting today, AMC will also show more ads than before, meaning its preshow lineup may have to be reconfigured to avoid exceeding the 30-minute mark. The company made an agreement with the National CineMedia ad network that includes as much as five minutes of commercials shown "after a movie's official start time," according to The Hollywood Reporter, and an additional 30-to-60-second "Platinum Spot" that plays before the last one or two trailers.
AMC was the only major theater chain to reject the National CineMedia ad spot when it was pitched in 2019, telling Bloomberg at the time that it believed "US moviegoers would react quite negatively." Now struggling financially amid an overall decline in movie theater attendance and box-office grosses, AMC has reversed course, telling The Hollywood Reporter that its competitors "have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance."
AMC was the only major theater chain to reject the National CineMedia ad spot when it was pitched in 2019, telling Bloomberg at the time that it believed "US moviegoers would react quite negatively." Now struggling financially amid an overall decline in movie theater attendance and box-office grosses, AMC has reversed course, telling The Hollywood Reporter that its competitors "have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance."
So their fix is to make it worse (Score:5, Insightful)
Idiots.
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Re:So their fix is to make it worse (Score:4, Insightful)
Thank you. I'm sure I'm coming back.
Re: So their fix is to make it worse (Score:2)
Exactly this.
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You forgot the noise of unwrapping sweets from crinkly bits of cellophane.
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To be fair I go to my local small town movie theater quite often, they have decent cafe in a nice location, so a good place to eat lunch. On rare occasions I will watch a movie there too. I suspect they make far more money from serving decent food than they do from people watching movies.
Re: So their fix is to make it worse (Score:2)
Actually, sounds like they are helping ... (Score:5, Interesting)
Idiots.
From the summary: "AMC Theatres now warns customers that movies start 25-30 minutes after the listed showtime to account for ads and trailers, "making it easier for moviegoers to know the actual start time of their film screening,"
It seems they are helping people avoid ads and trailers by making it clear how much there will be, when the movie will actually start. If their quote is accurate, I show up 20 minutes after the posted start time. Thanks for the heads up AMC.
I wonder if the ads and trailers are someone else's idea, AMC obligated to show it all, so they (maybe local managers if not corporate) are giving the heads up to help customers?
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Big moviegoer here.
I see many movies. The trailers don't bother me, I actually enjoy them. The ads bother me a little. Just saw "F1" which I found hard to follow, with too much music and not clear enough dialog. Maybe people are watching all these at home so they can turn on subtitles. And I wonder if it's just me that was confused as to who won the last race, Brad Pitt's character or the other principle protagonist? Yeah, I could pay more close attention I suppose, but don't think it should be th
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And I wonder if it's just me that was confused as to who won the last race, Brad Pitt's character or the other principle protagonist? Yeah, I could pay more close attention I suppose, but don't think it should be this hard.
***MILD SPOILERS***
You didn't watch closely enough to see that one was celebrating on the podium and one was not? That's borderline "I didn't watch the movie". It wasn't exactly a subtle film.
Re: Actually, sounds like they are helping ... (Score:2)
Re:Actually, sounds like they are helping ... (Score:4, Insightful)
It would be helpful if they actually indicated the movie start time.
Re:So their fix is to make it worse (Score:5, Insightful)
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I think this is called "shitification".
vs. Enshittification (Score:2)
I think this is called "shitification".
Correct.
Some would probably say it should be "enshittification" [wikipedia.org], but I would argue that "enshittification" is the process of embarking into the process of making your service/experience crap for your users, and we're well past that part in the movie going 'experience', so "shitification" is correct here.
Re: vs. Enshittification (Score:4, Insightful)
It's terminal enshitification. Call it endshitification.
Re: vs. Enshittification (Score:2)
I would vote this up if I could.
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The saddest thing is that I didn't come up with it. I asked ChatGPT for inspiration. It came up with that term. Obviously stolen from someone else. I like the word, though.
https://chatgpt.com/share/6864db3e-537c-8000-b72c-6777c1a2eab3
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Oh, and after about >25 years using slashdot, I still don't know what's a modpoint. Never seen one.
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I have not been to a theater in - 20 years? more? I cant remember.
its been unpleasant for decades. and with home theater, unless you're a teen trying to escape home and get 'privacy' somewhere else, theaters have long outlived their usefulness.
I think I stopped theaters around the time I cut the cable.
all around, what passes for entertainment is just plain rotten and/or boring.
you can keep it.
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Idiots.
In what way? They explicitly said they've noted in the wider market trend that it had no negative impact elsewhere. This isn't worse, it's better ... for them.
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They explicitly said they've noted in the wider market trend that it had no negative impact elsewhere.
Hmm, yes, let's all believe the dying industry's own spin on things.
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... or until recently they showed up on Redbox, until that chain's demise. My plan while Redbox still existed, was I'd wait till any movie I cared to see (which were VERY few) came out in the Redbox, I'd then rent it and rip it to my Emby media server. Mostly, since Redbox imploded, there hasn't been any movies that i'd care to see. As an aside, there is one movie that I'd go see in a theater IF Spielberg made a sequel to Close Encounters of the 3rd Kinf... I remember seeing that movie first run in 1977 at
Meanwhile, I expect 0 minutes of Ads and Trailers (Score:5, Insightful)
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So you haven't been to a theater is at least 40 years? Cuz they've had both for at least that long.
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Since 1957, at a minimum [youtu.be].
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That's why I don't got to the cinema now. Wait for it to come on streaming, then grab a decent copy off The Pirate Bay so I can watch it without the ads.
I've become super sensitive to ads. Can't stand them. Blocked everywhere.
Re: Meanwhile, I expect 0 minutes of Ads and Trail (Score:2)
25 minutes of ads means I wonâ(TM)t ever set foot in a cinema again.
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To be fair, AMC tickets are usually the cheapest of all the still existing major theater chains by far. I'm sure that by doing this they're just trying to balance the budget. Don't forget that not long ago they were about to have to close their doors permanently until they were saved at the 11th hour by a meme-stock craze. Will it work? Who knows... but I'm sure you can still find more expensive theaters showing fewer trailers.
Re: Meanwhile, I expect 0 minutes of Ads and Trail (Score:2)
Iâ(TM)m not concerned about cheap tickets. Iâ(TM)m concerned about a crappy experience and ads make for a crappy experience
No bother (Score:5, Insightful)
They're simply reinforcing my belief that I shouldn't spend a dime at their theaters. I can continue watching the same content (if I so desire) on a better sound system with a large screen without sticky floors and expensive snacks at HOME. :)
Seeya.
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You're not watching on a better sound system.
Saw 2001 during the pandemic, in IMAX. Absolutely awesome, and there's no way in H that you can duplicate that sound at home. I have pioneer at 125 W/channel and speakers that weigh 95 lbs each, and it won't even come close.
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...there's no way in H that you can duplicate that sound at home.
That is a very good example of one of the many reasons I prefer to see movies at home. Not being able to duplicate that sound at home is a HUGE plus for watching movies at home.
Movie theater sound is just too loud, and always has been. The last time I went to the theater was to take my kid to that awful Minecraft movie, and I was kicking myself for not bringing my earplugs. I could have comfortably heard the movie, missing none of the sound, with them firmly inserted.
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I carry earplugs routinely, but the IMAX is the one theater that I actually use them for. Other theaters are reasonable. IMAX is quite possibly unhealthy with it sound intensity.
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enjoy your enjoyment of 'sound'.
as you get older (GOML) the sound of the sound matters so much less.
there were times that listening to a single speaker fm pocket 'transistor radio' was good enough to enjoy the songs.
have your fun with your rumble and explosions. as you get older, that shit becomes SO much less important, you wont believe how irrelevant all that hype really is.
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It's a shame IMAX isn't that advanced.
I've got 800w sound system in something the size of an NES cartridge. I run three of those for surround sound off my computer.
If only sound codecs allowed for vertical positioning of audio. I'd add a fourth amp and roll 8.1 out the corners of the room.
Re: No bother (Score:2)
I should very much like to see an 800W amp the size of an nes cartridge. The smallest amp I could find was an NAD at 30W about the size of a mac mini.
Re: No bother (Score:1)
Plus spend the same amount to get your room acoustics good enough - or it will still be awful :)
Just like the Internet sites, then .... (Score:5, Insightful)
They just want to subsidize enough of their operation with revenue from ads to keep things afloat.
Realistically, a whole lot of people will tolerate a bunch of advertising if it's a trade for viewing the desired content free. YouTube is living proof. But sorry ... once you pay for the experience, you really DON'T want to be bombarded with 30-some minutes of advertising. Clearly, AMC is banking on getting the ad revenue by running all the ads, but telling the moviegoers to essentially come 20-30 minutes later so you can skip all of them and still see your movie.
This plan doesn't sound too sustainable to me.
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Yeah. That's nice. When do movie theaters offer free movies? In fact, the fucking tickets now cost practically what the dvd/bluray will cost when it comes out 6 months later. Or, you wait 3 months for it to hit a streaming platform, then buy access for less then the cost of a single ticket.
I wonder what new businesses will spring up in the place of all these dying theaters.
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I don't mind ad as much if they are related. If you show me related movies, if you show me an ad about your cinema card, I'm ok with that.
If you are showing an ad for a card or a new vacuum cleaner, get the fuck out of there!
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You don't and I don't, but a lot of people are paying for streaming service ad tiers. And there's cable. And magazines.
I don't get it either but some people seem to be ok with paying for things that have ads, presumably believing that it would have cost more without them. Of course when true it's only because of corporate greed but still.
making it easier for moviegoers (Score:1)
Fix'd that for you
And I warned AMC that..... (Score:2)
I will be attending their theaters even less now.
I despise advertising and its one sure fire way to keep me from giving them money.
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I will be attending their theaters even less now.
I'm still trying to figure out how to attend theaters for less than 0 minutes per year.
Stop going to AMC, start going to Texas Drafthouse (Score:2)
You will get the same 25~30 minutes of pre-roll ads, but at least you can have propper food and have a draft beer in a "restaurant type area" outside the projection area while you wait.
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You will get the same 25~30 minutes of pre-roll ads, but at least you can have propper food and have a draft beer in a "restaurant type area" outside the projection area while you wait.
Or was it Alamo Drafthouse? Anywho, my point stands.
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What was stopping you doing that before? Now you know how many minutes later you can turn up, but nothing's really changed.
And this is new how? (Score:1)
It's been that way for years. This is nothing new.
Delayed gratification then (Score:5, Interesting)
Dunno about you, but I'm perfectly happy waiting for any movie to be released to streaming before watching it. Hell, most are trash anyway, but even the few I'm interested in seeing I can wait on.
Of course, we aren't talking about what *kinda* of streaming is the best.
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Yup. Watch it on streaming, and on the rare occasions when it's a movie we decide we'll want to watch again... buy the Blu-Ray and rip it to the media server (avoiding THOSE ads as well).
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Why pay twice? Wait for the high seas release, watch for free and if it wasn't a waste of time, buy and rip the physical medium.
Arrrrrr (Score:5, Interesting)
Maties!
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Silly comment. Piracy doesn't compare to going to a theatre. You don't have a 90ft wide screen at home with dual laser projects in a perfectly dark room and a real Atmos (as opposed to the gimped consumer version) sound system.
Stop pretending the ads make you pirate. You weren't going to the theatre in the first place.
Re:Arrrrrr (Score:5, Insightful)
You don't have a 90ft wide screen at home with dual laser projects in a perfectly dark room and a real Atmos (as opposed to the gimped consumer version) sound system.
Yes, but I don't have odd smells, sticky floors, cramped seats, people who talk, loud chewers or children either.
One thing I do have at home, however, is a pause button and whatever I want to eat/drink/smoke.
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One thing I do have at home, however, is a pause button and whatever I want to eat/drink/smoke.
Yup. Being able to use the toilet without missing the movie is critical.
I also like having subtitles on, so I can actually know what the actors are saying, since the voice mixing is usually so horrible.
I recently saw "F1" in the theater. When the British (or whatever) actors were speaking, I couldn't understand what the fuck they were saying half the time. At some point, I determined it didn't really matter anyway - race cars, vroom! vroom!!
Re: Arrrrrr (Score:1)
The cinema I go to has the laser projector, the surround sound and the massive screen and it doesn't have any of the annoyances people on here talk about. Much better experience than watching a movie on free to air via a 32" 1080i tv with inbuilt speakers or via Disney+ or YouTube or the like in low res on a tiny computer monitor with crappy 2.1ch computer speakers.
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One thing I do have at home, however, is a pause button and whatever I want to eat/drink/smoke.
And volume control.
Re: Arrrrrr (Score:2)
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You don't have a 90ft wide screen at home with dual laser projects in a perfectly dark room and a real Atmos (as opposed to the gimped consumer version) sound system.
Why do I need any of that shit? Does it somehow improve the plot, or the acting? No? Then fuck it.
I'm happy watching a movie on my phone when it suits me. Earlier today, I watched "Rounders".
Besides which, I've never been in a "perfectly dark room" at a movie theater. I didn't even know they existed.
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Silly comment. Piracy doesn't compare to going to a theatre. You don't have a 90ft wide screen at home
And I'm not sitting 50 feet away from it. I have a 75 inch 4K HDR TV and a Sony sound system. I can sit as close as I want. Or I can fire up my projector on the 120 inch screen.
in a perfectly dark room
Last time I went some idiot kept checking his phone down in front of me. During dark scenes, I would have a big spot my night vision and take time to recover. Still not as bad as the time some asshole was taking pictures of his family during the start of the movie. Flash photography blindness takes much longer to overcome.
real Atmos (as opposed to the gimped consumer version) sound system.
Somet
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Silly comment. You don't have a 90ft wide screen at home
Stupid comment. You do know why theaters have 90ft screens, right? It's because you're fucking sitting 200 ft from it. You don't need a fucking 90ft screen at home to get the same effect.
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You don't have a 90ft wide screen at home with dual laser projects in a perfectly dark room and a real Atmos (as opposed to the gimped consumer version) sound system.
No i have a smaller room so i sit closer, so i have no need for such a large screen.
Plus i can sit in exactly the ideal location for the sound system and screen, whereas most of the theatre audience are sitting outside of the optimal seats.
Also theatre experiences differ significantly. Some of them have much smaller screens, lousy sound systems, dirty, smelly, crowds of kids, uncomfortable seating etc. There isn't a decent one around here, i have to travel a significant distance for a decent theatre experie
And I'm warning AMC (Score:2)
I'll never bother going to a move theater ever again. I can wait 3-4 months for whatever movie is coming out and see zero ads, and I'll still have a full month of that streaming service available.
Face it AMC, your a dying business model. So show all the ads you want but you won't see any more money from me and I suspect more and more people will stop bothering with the move theaters.
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If you're only relevant comparison is the ads you weren't going to the cinema in the first place. Your 3-4 month wait has a significant impact on screen size, sound, and visual quality. If you weren't interested in those 3 things you weren't going to the cinema anyway and are just pretending like the ads now make a difference.
Face it AMC, your a dying business model.
Not really. Cinemas are doing just fine the world over. AMC themselves may be dying having posted a net loss every year for the past 7 years running, but the business model is objectiv
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Your 3-4 month wait has a significant impact on screen size, sound, and visual quality.
Screen size: True, although these days an 80" screen that you can reasonably sit close enough to in order to have a similar experience is not very expensive.
Sound: You mean I don't have to get my fucking head blown off by overdriven audio? OK.
Visual quality: The 80" 4k TV has just as many dots as the theater does, and a better contrast ratio.
Get some friends together to make the purchase and watch movies together, it will get to be cheaper than going to the theater real quick. You can buy 4k Blu-Rays instea
Other changes (Score:2)
Making AMC Great Again.
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Let me know when there's thermally-regulated sewage available as part of the experience - until then it's just not worth the inconvenience.
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Will they allow outside raw sewage? Or will we have to buy it at their snack bar?
Just one of many reasons (Score:2)
Ads, just one of the many reasons I don't go to theaters any longer. Last time I went was back around 2015 to watch a Star Wars flick on the big screen. It was underwhelming and my kids were like, Meh, too. The price of the movie, the extremely overpriced concessions, rude people, and the ads. I have a 55" monitor at home, my custom HTPC, along with a NAS, that avoids all of this nonsense.
AMC is ass (Score:2)
Meanwhile, my local AMC hasn't invested a single dime in maintenance or upkeep in almost 20 years. The seats are filthy and usually broken, the concession stands look like they haven't been cleaned in a decade, there's always at least one urinal with a trashbag full of piss tied to it for some reason. I guess AMC decided they still have another foot and one more bullet so they might as well shoot themselves in both feet.
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That's why you go to theaters - nobody wants a trashbag full of piss in their own house when they go to the bathroom in the middle of a film.
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To be fair, my local Regal theater recently remodeled at great expense and it's gorgeous inside. Nice reclining seats with armrests and cupholders, very clean, sparkling floors and wall trim, good climate control... and every day the place is empty.
They also show over 30 minutes of ads before every film to stay afloat. Too bad they are showing those ads to empty seats, and it's likely the advertisers will end up pulling out shortly.
\o/ (Score:1)
AMC Warns customers to go elsewhere.
Even with the streaming battles, I can't see how there are still cinemas at all - I guess this is some kind of death-spiral thing...
\o/ (Score:1)
For those customers who just can't quit the overpriced-junk-food-and-sticky-seats experience, someone should create an app which notifies customers when the ads have finished with enough time to get back into the screening room.
DOES NOT COMPUTE ! (Score:2)
Back in my day a movie ticket was under $10 (Score:1)
and at worst you got ten minutes of ads and trailers.
Now it's $20 plus, you can't pause it to take a piss, and you're sitting in a chair someone else spread bed bugs on.
Movie theaters are dead. My ten year old 40 inch TV shows me anything I care to watch for less money and less bullshit. And there isn't much I care to watch nowadays given the near-generation's worth of utter dreck and creative sterility in Hollywood.
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you're sitting in a chair someone else spread bed bugs on.
Those aren't bed bugs.
Re: Back in my day a movie ticket was under $10 (Score:1)
s/aren't/aren't only/
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$10 in 1997 is $20 after inflation.
Law (Score:1)
By law, a movie should be required to start playing within 5 minutes of the start time published. Failure to do so should result in a $100 fee payable, in cash, to each person holding a ticket for the movie.
In other words, all of your fucking ads should be before the movie's start time.
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Re: Law (Score:2)
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Isn't capitalism supposed to be partly about making products that consumers want though?
and letting the market decide. If moviegoers decide not to go because of ads, theaters will close or change their business model. Some have gone to a model where food service is more of the experience, including beer; while having reasonably low prices for the ticket. At least AMC says when to show up to avoid ads and trailers, if the offer reserved seating for advance purchases they’ve solved teh ‘arrive late and get a bad seat’ problem as well.
Re: Law (Score:2)
Coming soon: Mid-roll ads (Score:2)
When people start arriving later and later to avoid the ads, they'll just implement several mid-roll ads during suspenseful parts of the movie, just like they used to do on TV.
At that point we have to look at relevance: Will it be worth it to continue going to the movie theater with these increased ad loads?
What's the point of movie theaters anyhow? It seems that it is much easier to order new releases through some sort of "pay-per-view" mechanism, then having to drive to a movie theater. [Your popcorn will
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The purpose of the theater is participation in group reactions. If that's not interesting to you, by all means stay home. I enjoy it, but it's not worth the down sides of doing that with modern moviegoers, so I stay home and watch a big TV at home and eat popcorn with real butter, and pause when I want to take a piss. I have 4k and DTS at home, thanks.
When will they start paying us to visit the theate (Score:2)
to watch that amount of ads?
Wait.... We already have had that. (Score:1)
Time to NOT see a movie (Score:1)
They can run an hour of ads, for all I care (Score:2)
When theatres started down this road, I just opted out. I have a good home theatre setup, and I have started going to live entertainment more than I did since I was a kid.
Pride (Score:2)
Yet another reason... (Score:2)
...to avoid movie theaters. Granted, I haven't been to one in years. The last couple of attempts put me off. Aside from the ads and previews, chattering kids, and all the usual annoyances, we have (1) Way too many mobile phone screens. Incredibly distracting, can't your Instagram wait 2 hours? (2) Eardrum-shattering sound levels. I like things loud, but jeezum, I shouldn't leave with my ears bleeding.
Invite your friends over, watch movies at home. Nowadays, nearly everyone has a decent-sized screen and go
Re: No problem (Score:2)
If Blade Runner 3 comes out, I wouldn't bother... ev
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Not sure when that was, but I'll match that. I just couldn't resist wanting to see the Blade Runner sequel
Saw that at the theater. I was disappointed. Saw Solo next. It was so bad, I haven't seen anything Star Wars since. My last trip to the theater was for Joker. The first one, not the musical sequel. I enjoyed it. Not what I expected, but good anyway. But then COVID happened and I beefed up my home theater setup. I have no interest in going back.
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Which is how you should handle movies in the future.
Buy your tickets in advance to secure the seats you want, and then enter the theatre maybe 20 minutes after the start time.