The movie was listed to start at 115PM.
Natasha and I sat there patiently, suffering commercials and appeals to buy overpriced soda and popcorn for about 10 minutes.
THEN, 115PM arrives.
Where after Natasha and I suffered another 30 F@#*ING minutes watching MORE commercials, interspersed with previews.
The movie finally starts at 145PM.
Can somebody in the industry answer me this one simple question;
"Why in Spike Spiegel's name do they NOT show Bugs Bunny cartoons anymore before the movie?"
Does anybody in the cinema industry realize how much of a competitive advantage they would have over their peers if they'd just bleeping get rid of the advertisements and throw up some old school Bugs Bunny?
Oh, wait, that's right. I forget. I'm THINKING. Foolish me thinking of the customer first and somehow trying to improve a product.
And BTW, it was Carmike theaters I had to suffer this waste of time with. If you ever want to see a movie at a Carmike theater, just show up 30 minutes last and the movie should about be ready to start.
11 comments:
They're obviously trying to make as much money as they can without caring about the negative externalities of their actions. In my neck of the woods, they don't dare do that...even on dollar movie night at the cheap show. It's only been in the last couple of years we have had actual product commercials in our theaters. Ever since I was a kid, it's always JUST been please be quiet, no smoking, fire exits, buy popcorn in the lobby, movie previews, then the show. 15 minutes tops.
Cap't,
Being involved int he industry for over 25 years, i have seen this type of reaction a hundred times.
While in general I agree with you, the theatre would have to increase their prices (Box & Concessions) in order to skip the pre-show ads (Lots of payola). So they loose their "Economic" advantage.
billy b
ps: While some are more egregious than others, Carmike has no lock on wasting your time.
In general, when a company/industry has a declining customer base they have two basic directions they can move in; they can try to increase the revenue from their remaining customers, or they can try to attract new customers. In the case of the movie/theatre industry, they seem heavily focused on increasing the revenue from their remaining customers, and the approach they’re taking tends to drive more people away.
That is exactly why I do not go to movies anymore! I gave up complaining about it, I just don`t go. Throw in the fact, that almost all new movies are geared towards children. My four year old son, thought Pirates Of The Caribbean was a great movie. I am sure most children would agree with that statement.
Sorry Hollywood, but you are not getting my entertainment dollar! Your product is garbage.
Understood, ads bring in revenue and help subsidize the price (though they still seem to like raising the price to $10). HOwever, could they just throw ONE bleeping cartoon in BEFORE the movie and say a couple previews?
Captain,
You are going to the wrong theaters.
Every summer the Alabama Theater (Birmingham) and the Fox Theater (Atlanta) has a summer film series.
They both do it old school. Organ sing-alongs and classic Warner Brothers cartoon(s) before the feature.
Prior to sing-alongs the Alabama does a powerpoint with trivia about the feature. The Fox does one about the history and restoration of the Fox.
Gone with the Wind is playing at the Alabama next weekend. Confederate re-enactors show up dressed as Confederate soldiers. Women show up dress as Scarlett O'Hara from various scenes in the movie. And Dixie is played before the start of the movie, which has the intermission.
The concessions are also reasonable. Popcorn and coke $5 or less.
Surely, Minnesota has something similar.
I haven't gone to the movies since "The Wrath of Khan", except for one group outing to see "Michael Clayton".
But you're right - too many ads and too many previews.
Maybe there's another "evil" reason - Americans no longer show up to anything on time, they are darned near always late and not just by a minute or two, so we start pad the front end of any scheduled event with non-important crap to accomodate the latecomers.
That would be a great opportunity for a ballistic rant of nuclear proportions.
BTW, there's a reason home theaters and NetFlix are hot.
Now, here's a million dollar idea. Instead of having baby-sitters come to your house to sit the kids so you can go out to a movie, how about paying people to take your kids out so you can stay at home and watch movies on your home theater system or do some other things that consenting adults do.
Hi Mayfield,
I doubt it. I've been in Minnepaolis 17 years and nothing like that exists. I would have to drive down South of the Mason Dixon line to see some BUgs Bunny.
Captain,
Check this out.
http://www.heightstheater.com/
From their site:
"Please note that unlike chain or multiplex theaters we DO NOT run any advertisements or multiple previews before our features. The feature usually starts no later than 5 - 10 minutes after the posted start times."
Maybe you are close enough to catch a few classic films.
Dr. Bob is on to something. I hate any event that has a built in late factor. Germans, Swiss, and Japanese are always on time. I hate late people and events.
To top it off, at a movie you are giving someone your money, and they still waste your time.
While you're at it, bring back the Fox Movietone Newsreels.
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