Commercials before the start of a movie?

[Alex Dragon]

I know everyone generally hates commercials but a few weeks ago when I went to see the latest STAR WARS movie I got to the theatre about 15 minutes early to be sure I got a decent seat. Normally I try to not to go to sit down so early because you're generally just sitting there looking at a blank screen or a slide show of some type and the time tends to drag.
This time I was pleasantly surprised with commercials to past the time. The lights were dimmed a bit and they showed a string of commercials and TV previews that I'd never seen before and I enjoyed them. The movie started at the time it was supposed to, there was enough light for people trying to find seats to see, and it was something to watch until the comming attractions and movie started.

I heard there used to be cartoons and other stuff that played before a movie started back in the 50s. Would you mind if they played commercials or cartoons or whatever before a movie started these days or are you tired of commercials and would rather they didn't play anything before the movie/previews start?

[adamthered]

I can't stand 'em. Let's go back to the olden day when they showed new clips and cartoons :D

[Taltos]

I wouldnt mind cartoons. They stil do mini cartoons before some movies (e.g. Incredibles, ANTZ, and Pokemon. But I absolutly hate commercials. Last night I saw Star Wars for the fourth time (first time I was high though) and they were showing this preview and it looked like a new 3 musketeers movie and I was pumped but it just turned out to be a car commercial. :( Needless to say, I was pissed.

[clayholio]

I heard there used to be cartoons and other stuff that played before a movie started back in the 50s. Would you mind if they played commercials or cartoons or whatever before a movie started these days or are you tired of commercials and would rather they didn't play anything before the movie/previews start?
If you check out the DVD for "The Treasure of Sierra Madre," there is actually a bunch of that stuff as extra features. News reels, cartoons, short films. It's kind of fun to see what they used to see before movies.

The thing about commercials in theatres is that the whole point of seeing a film in the theatre is to avoid being bombarded with commercials. You pay to see a film uninterrupted, and free from distractions. Having some stupid puppet yelling at me to buy Sprite right before watching a movie kind of cheapens the process.

But, I wouldn't care as long as the ads all ran prior to the announced start time. That way, it'd be largely optional if you wanted to see them. When a movie is advertised to start at 4:00, that's when it should start.

[The Fury]

I heard there used to be cartoons and other stuff that played before a movie started back in the 50s. Would you mind if they played commercials or cartoons or whatever before a movie started these days or are you tired of commercials and would rather they didn't play anything before the movie/previews start?
The old cartoons such as WB and Disney cartoons were created as short films to be played between news reels or before movies at the cinemas.

When i went to see SW the other day, there was about 10 minutes of adverts. That's far too many. I did what you did and arrived to get a good seat and stuff, and had to sit through the adds as well. I'm all for a cartoon or short film, rather then adverts.

[pennywisdom]

I hate the commercials, too. I think everyone does. But you have to grin and bear it. We live in a very materialistic capitalist society, and if you don't like advertisements, you're SOL. Any time someone finds the chance to advertise and therefore make a buck, they're going to take it. I think it's insane when people refuse to go to movies or write angry letters when their film-going experience is cheapened. Big business doesn't give a crap about your experience. They only want your money. It's the American way, so just hunker down and get used to it. From my perspective, I've found these things only bother me if I deliberately let them. If I just say "Who cares?" and focus on the movie, the commercials never matter.

As for cartoons, I think they would be enjoyable, but not everyone would agree with me. You see, back in the day, entertainment wasn't so prevalent in people's lives. People didn't dedicate as much time to having fun as they do now. Back then, there was no TV, no video games, no internet, and radio was pretty boring. If you went to the movies, you just watched whatever they showed you. Now, entertainment is an industry and people who have an afternoon off have a thousand entertainment choices. As such, when people pay for a movie ticket, they want to see the movie they paid for and THAT'S IT. There is a 24 hour cable network dedicated to cartoons. People publish their own cartoons on the internet. I can imagine a lot of theatre-goers saying "What the hell is this? If I wanted cartoons, I could have stayed at home." Today's movie-goer is a lot more demanding because he/she has a lot more choices. You can't just put something up there and expect people to watch it.

[estee]

They should be outlawed...we pay, what, $15 for a movie...we don't deserve to be inudated with whatever drek JLo is hawking now.

They should bring back the fricken national anthem and play it before every screening.

[pennywisdom]

They should be outlawed...we pay, what, $15 for a movie...we don't deserve to be inudated with whatever drek JLo is hawking now.

They should bring back the fricken national anthem and play it before every screening.
My point remains that commercials ARE our national anthem. Nothing is more deeply ingrained into American culture than advertising, so if you think we're going to up and abandon capitalism just because you want to watch Episode III uninterrupted, you're wrong. I don't like commercials, either, but they're here to stay.

[dougputhoff]

I don't know. Seeing "Sith" a few weeks back was the first time I'd gone to the movies (in a theater in five years). They showed commercials before the picture. I'd rather seen have more previews. However, if it keeps the cost of going to the movies down. I'm all for commercials.

[dougputhoff]

They should be outlawed...we pay, what, $15 for a movie...we don't deserve to be inudated with whatever drek JLo is hawking now.

They should bring back the fricken national anthem and play it before every screening.

Nyahh, I think we should all meditate for ten minutes before we watch a movie--maybe 20.

[Valmore]

Actually, I think the skyrocketing ticket prices was the reason for adding commercials before movies. Advertisers paying for commercial slots before movies helps offset keeping ticket prices at whatever level they're currently at. It's annoying, but it means a ticket at AMC Theater in Tallahassee is only $8.

I like the "fake movie preview" that they've been adding - where you think you're viewing a new movie preview, and then a cell phone goes off in the middle of it, and the actors go, "Where's that noise coming from? It's coming from the audience." PLEASE don't add your own soundtrack to the movie.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

As for cartoons, I think they would be enjoyable, but not everyone would agree with me. You see, back in the day, entertainment wasn't so prevalent in people's lives. People didn't dedicate as much time to having fun as they do now. Back then, there was no TV, no video games, no internet, and radio was pretty boring.

Actually radio was very popular, and of a higher standard than today.

That said the cartoons back then were more aimed at adults - watch early Looney Tunes (or Merry Melodies) or some early Tom and Jerry - they have politcal jokes, celbrity jokes, mass alcohol use, and insane amounts of violence.

They also used to have sing alongs before the movie, as well as cartoons and news reels.

Going to the cinema was a big night out.

[ocelotrevs]

I had to wait almost 20minutes for the film to start after the stupid commercials. I hate them, 5 minutes yeah, i'd be up for that. 10 that's okay but pushing it.

[Michael P]

Hate 'em, want 'em to die.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I don't mind at film festivals when they play short films before the main feature.
Some are quite good and I figure it would work before all movies.

Also film festivals generally have the best commercials.
Often because they are sick and dirty because ratings don't apply to festivals (in Australia anyway).
Also, they are of a higher quality because they are trying to appeal to a select audience.

(gee, which poster was at the Sydney Film Festival the other day?)

[Valmore]

I don't mind at film festivals when they play short films before the main feature.
Some are quite good and I figure it would work before all movies.

Also film festivals generally have the best commercials.
Often because they are sick and dirty because ratings don't apply to festivals (in Australia anyway).
Also, they are of a higher quality because they are trying to appeal to a select audience.

(gee, which poster was at the Sydney Film Festival the other day?)

OOH! OOH! I know this one!

It was Spike-X, wasn't it? Huh?!? HUH?!?

[Alex Dragon]

But, I wouldn't care as long as the ads all ran prior to the announced start time. That way, it'd be largely optional if you wanted to see them. When a movie is advertised to start at 4:00, that's when it should start.

That's pretty much what I'm talking about. If the movie's start time is 4:00 it should start at 4:00. But if they started playing commercials at 3:50 til it was time til the previews I wouldn't mind.
Like today I was stuck going to the movies myself and I just sat there in the theatre listening to some guy yapping too loud on a cell phone while I watched a slide show of what basically were commercials anyway til the previews started. The slide show they usually show with the movie triva stuff is basically an ad for Coke (There's a big Coca Cola logo on it) and ads for Fandango and local business. I'd just as well be watching a full blown ad with movement and sound.
The commercials that played before Star Wars were well done and stuff I hadn't seen before anyway. I didn't mind them at all.

[Guts/Batman]

They suck.

I got to Star Wars a few days ago and to find a decent spot I got there half our before.

Crappy music to go with commercials that sell home realators...No.

Play Cartoons. I would love it if they played old Spider-Friends episodes.

[GUYANATHUGG]

I got a shock that when I first went to the movies over here (London), that they show the ads at the the time they state the movie starts and they take god damn 15-20 minutes. So, if you want to get a decent seat you have to wind up going like 45 minutes before it starts. But then I guess you always get a 15-20 leeway if your late.

[Sabrina_Fried]

What really bugs me is those pre-show slideshows they have running on a continuous loop in the theatres whenever the projector isnt running. The "trivia" is way too easy, and there are not nearly enough slides. It gets so annoying when the same slide is repeated every 5 mins! I'm actually all for allowing local restaurants and such to advertise to the crowd in this silent, less-intrusive way because there have been times when I have been discussing with my friends what we are going to do after the film and the slides advertised a new restaurant that we wanted to try or something. And If we wanted to ignore the slides we could just read or talk or something.

Now however, because they have switched to a digital slideshow, the slides move and have sound and are every bit as annoying as the pre-show commercials. The last time I went to see a film in theatres, I got in the theatre 20 mins before the posted start time in order to get a good seat and had to sit through 4 repetitions of the slides. Fortunetly I had a book with me so I ignored them completely. When the lights went down, we had 15 minutes of commercials, most of which were played louder than the feature, then about 15 minutes of trailers, not one of which was for a movie I was even remotely interested in seeing, and then the feature. Though in the end the trailers for movies I had no interest in seeing turned out to be more entertaining than the feature.

For the record, half an hour after the posted start time, when the feature finally started, there were still people coming into the theatre. They were either chronically tardy, or else alot smarter than I was since they didn't have to sit through almost an hour of annoying advertising before seeing the show. They only had to sit through the blatant product placements in the feature itself.

For the record, I see most movies on DVD these days. Between the ads and the cost of the tickets themselves it's just not worth it anymore for most movies.

Sabrina

[Dreadstar]

Lessee... I've been going to the theater/drive-in for, oh... 35-40 years now.

There have always been preshow previews and coming attraction comercials. Product commercials as slick as they are today are pretty new, but not a lot different than the old "Let's all go to the snack bar!" loops. The listed "start time" of the movie (at least in MY neck of the woods) has ALWAYS been the time when they start showing the previews/commercials.

And not one bit of any of that bothers me in the least, because to me, it's just "The Way Things Are (tm)."

I don't expect to ever change it, and I don't expect to see it changed in my lifetime.

Way I figure it, if the movie list says 4:00, then I can count on the movie starting at 4:15, give or take a few minutes. No problem. No I can decide what time I need to get there to get a perfect seat and still get a coke from the snack bar.

To be truthful, I absolutely *LOVE* previews. LOVE them. I usually get to the theater a half-hour ahead of time so I can skip from screen to screen and watch the previews on other screens before *my* previews start, and then I may even skip around afterwards to catch a few more. Love em.

Commercials? Who cares? That's usually when I'm setttling in and making sure my nachos have enough cheese. Really it's not like I was doing a hell of a lot with that 5 minutes of my life, anyways...