Loews Is Slightly More Honest About Movie Start Times
from the does-it-matter? dept
When the Sony Metreon movie theater first opened in San Francisco, one of the nice things was that they started the commercials "early" so that the show actually started about the time it was supposed to start. Eventually, the Metreon was renamed the Loews Theatres Metreon, and that practice went away. However, it looks like the Loews folks finally heard from enough people saying they liked the old way. The company has announced a slight change, that is being misreported in many places. Rather than (as some claim) placing the "actual" start time of a movie in the listing, Loews theaters will add an extra note reminding people that most movies will have 10 to 15 minutes of commercials showing before the movie actually starts. Of course, most people already know this. Even the people at Loews pretty much admit this is a publicity stunt, and they highly doubt anyone will change their behavior because of it. What this might really be about is a pre-emptive move against proposed legislation that would force movie theaters to advertise the real start time of a movie.
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wait for the backlash
The comment that everyone understands how these things work is apt. Since everyone, even those protesting, know the drill, why change? So the opposite set of loonies can have their day in the sun, of course.
A better idea would be to invoke the past. Pad the previews and commercials with short films, and you give people a reason to show up early.
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I already paid for this?
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I've already paid to see the movie when I bought my ticket. Sitting through 15 minutes of crap before the show starts is annoying. My time isn't free. I prefer to spend it as I see fit or charge for its use. MPAA, that will be $17.50 please.
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