Recent News
(** = Features CMPAA)
**Petition Aims to Ban Invasive Commercials at the Movies
Oh, they’re crafty, all right. They even design ads that resemble film trailers to confuse us.
- EcoSalon - 7/30/2009
Video: Frustrated Rant Against Growing Commercials In Movies
The Movie Blog - 4/6/2009
Why Commercials Before Movies Is Worse Than Piracy
When we download a movie without giving the movie industry anything in return, they call that a crime (and it is). But when the industry takes our time (sometimes up to 15 or 20 minutes) without giving us anything for that time in return they call it “smart marketing”.
The Movie Blog - 10/16/2007
**Advertainment Greets Moviegoers
The idea is that more fun makes advertising go down better with a theater’s captive audience.
USA Today - 10/15/2007
**In Theaters: Commercials Aplenty
Still, in-theater advertising can be controversial. Some consumers complain that, having paid for a ticket, they shouldn't have to sit through ads.
Wall Street Journal - 2/7/2007
Ads before movies: 'Ssssssss'
Say you're paying a babysitter $12 an hour, and you sit through 5 minutes of ads. That's basically a dollar's worth of your time.
Mark Caro - Chicago Tribune Blog - 10/10/2006
Enter Stage Right: Live Advertisements
No, to answer your question, there is nothing sacred.
New York Times - 5/24/2006
Coming soon: Changes in your movie theaters
Moviegoers are an endangered species. They need to be coaxed back into the dark, away from their computers and HD TVs.
Contra Costa Times / Knight Ridder - 5/7/2006
**Cinema ad preshow has no plot, but marketers give it thumbs up
"It's not about just putting bums in seats. It's about putting bums in seats that buy popcorn, buy concession items and are exposed to the advertising messages."
Globe and Mail - Toronto, ON - 4/20/2006
"Super" summer for the silver screen?
Industry experts have cited many reasons for the downturn in attendance. Rising prices for tickets and at the concession stand may alienate some moviegoers as do the growing number of commercials -- ads that you can't just skip with a TiVo -- that air before movies start.
CNNMoney.com - 3/31/2006
**Citizen Anschutz
How the conservative Christian head of Regal Cinemas is trying to change how you see movies.
Nerve.com - 3/23/2006
Answer Man: Pet-peeve-a-thon
Going into a small multiplex with a screen not much bigger than a big-screen TV and having to sit through commercials isn't going to get people out of the house.
RogerEbert.com - 2/19/2006
How about this approach for movie houses: More fun
Watching coming attractions of new movies is fine, but 40 minutes of conventional commercials is intolerable.
Corvallis Gazette-Times - Corvallis, OR - 9/28/2006
Changing Moviegoing Experience Hurting the Biz
These days it's not necessarily a question of which film to see, but whether to go to the movies at all. Increasingly, the public is becoming more vocal about its unhappiness with some of the unpleasant circumstances it now associates with moviegoing.
Backstage.com - 12/27/2005
Now playing: A glut of ads
Moviegoers are abandoning theaters this summer, and one of the reasons is over what happens before the movie even begins.
Baltimore Sun / Los Angeles Times - 7/12/2005
** Ticket-buyer, beware
Audiences endure growing commercial barrage at concerts, movies, plays
Rocky Mountain News - Denver, CO - 7/9/2005
** Box Office Space - Has advertising killed the cinema star?
Why is there such a boom in the home-video market and a downshift in theatrical movies?
Hartford Advocat - Hartford, CT - 7/7/2005
** Big-screen ads go mainstream
"We found our loyal patrons didn't like commercials,'' says Camera Cinemas co-owner Jack NyBlom.
San Jose Mercury News - San Jose, CA - 7/4/2005
** Audience Dissatisfaction
It is tough enough (and expensive enough) just getting a seat for a movie in New York. Why then do we have to sit through commercials for credit cards and candy and cola and cars?
Gotham Gazette - New York, NY - 6/23/2005
'Batman' doesn't rescue film business
Even as theaters offer stadium seats and martinis, moviegoers are being bombarded with countless advertisements and coming attractions.
Los Angeles Times - 6/23/2005
** Ads holding movie audiences captive
Then it hits you -- a commercial. You're trapped.
Canada Online Explorer / Calgary Sun - 6/16/2005
** Shhh! The Ads Are About to Start
Pre-Movie Commercial Creep Is Nothing New, but Some Folks Aren't Taking It Sitting Down
Washington Post - 5/15/2005
** Loews gets real on movie times
So now that Loews Cineplex has 'fessed up about duping its customers, could refunds be next?
Philadelphia Inquirer - 5/8/2005
** Loews Goes Reel Time
"We don't get commercials on HBO, pay-per-view or other movie services that we pay for, so why should we tolerate them in theaters?"
E! Online News - 5/4/2005
** Facing ad gripes, Loews to list movie start times
"I think it's a smart business decision and that Loews will benefit from it. I think other chains will follow suit."
Chicago Tribune - 5/4/2005
Showing Soon at Loews: The Actual Movie Starting Time
Ads to Admit That if Showtime Is 8, Movie Time Will Be 8:10
New York Times - 5/4/2005
Soderbergh Embarks on Ambitious Project
"We're letting people decide, for the first time, if they want to go out or stay home when a movie debuts."
ABC News - 5/1/2005
** Sponsorship on the silver screen
Pre-movie theater ads annoy some, but they could be here to stay
The Blade - Toledo, OH - 4/24/2005
** Irritated by movie ads?
Show a sign of disapproval
Charlotte Observer - 4/22/2005
** Moviegoers trapped by pre-show ads
Advertising puts a damper on the theater experience
MSNBC.com - 4/12/2005
Mixed reviews for pre-movie ads
It's the latest truth-in-advertising dispute. What time does the movie start?
delawareonline.com / The (Westchester, N.Y.) Journal News - 03/27/2005
Ads Annoy Many Moviegoers
"We hate it; we want it to stop!"
CBS News - 3/21/2005
** The love and loathing of cinema ads
They came for caviar but they were forced to eat a bag of chips first.
BBC News - 2/23/2005
** Pre-movie ads drawing shouts, signs
Your ticket may say 5:30 but the movie doesn't really begin until 6. During that half hour, you sit there and take it.
Lodi News-Sentinel - Lodi, CA - 1/29/2005
Can't we just have TiVos implanted in our brains?
I really resent this ad creep. When I'm paying $8, $10, $12 to go to a theater, where I'm a captive viewer, I shouldn't have to sit through a barrage of commercials.
Los Angeles Times - 1/23/2005
** Moviegoers want curtain to drop on commercial invasion at theaters
Dan Salcito, 19, figures if he pays an arm and a leg for a movie ticket and munchies, he shouldn't have to sit through ads hawking credit cards and cell phones.
The News-Times - Danbury, CT - 1/19/2005
** Pay for your ticket - then continue to pay through advertising
Moviegoers, unite - we have nothing to lose but our sore bums.
Salt Lake City Tribune - 1/16/2005
Ad nauseam
No wonder movie attendance is off. Waiting through the loud preshow commercials and previews insults the intelligence and the wallet.
Philadelphia Inquirer - 1/15/2005
Ad Nauseam
Backlash simmers against commercials at the movies. Companies pay millions for spots, but research warns there's a price in moviegoer satisfaction
Entertainment Weekly - Issue 801 - 1/14/2005
** Paying for Art, But Instead Getting Ads
"Oh, come on!" a man cried in the dark.
"Give me a break!" a woman called out.
"We paid for a movie!" another man shouted.
New York Times - 12/28/2004
** I'll watch the ads... for a price!
With advertisers now pushing evermore TV-style commercials before the previews, expect yet another consumer backlash and an accompanying demand for opt-in compensation.
ClickZ Network - 12/14/2004
Commercial Interruptions
I don't know if it's just greed that has led some of the bigger chains to bolster their bottom lines by selling commercial time in front of movies, but I do know that it's really annoying.
The Stranger - Seattle, WA - 11/25/2004
Fans Want Lights Out On Movie Ads
Moviegoers give a big thumbs-down to commercials shown in theaters — and many are expressing their displeasure by staying home.
New York Post - 11/19/2004
Premiere Magazine's 50 Biggest Hollywood Disasters
#49: Commercials in Movie Theaters:
The ad industry's big-screen invasion leaves us wondering (a) why are we paying more than $10 for a ticket and (b) when's the goddamn movie going to start?
Premiere Magazine - 11/2004
** Theaters get more from ads
Although ads in theaters are a target for critics who long for the days when they could go to the movies to escape commercials, theater owners -- and advertisers -- are betting that Davis' laissez-faire attitude will prevail.
The News & Observer - Raleigh, NC - 10/26/2004
** Playing At A Theater Near You: Invasion Of The Time Snatchers
Marketers Take Moviegoers Hostage, Force Them To Sit Through More And More Ads
ctnow.com / The Hartford Courant - Hartford, CT - 8/07/2004
** Enjoy the show - eventually
The commercials we see today before nearly every film are slowly changing the way we go to the movies. But while their takeover is causing ruckus, it's causing little change.
Elmhurst Leader - Elmhurst College - Elmhurst, IL - 9/16/2003
'MoVo' for a captive audience
I propose a version of that device be installed in all movie theaters: MoVo.
News Tribune - Jefferson City, MO - 6/10/2003
Film-themed commercials annoy theater audiences
The Journal Gazette, Fort Wayne, IN - 6/08/2003
** Big Brother Reloaded
The matrix really is all around you, even before the movie starts
The Republic, Vancouver, BC - 5/29/2003
Regal Rant
Weekend Edition film commentator Kevin Murphy objects to Regal Cinema's policy of allowing 20 minutes worth of commercials to screen before the feature film.
National Public Radio - 5/25/2003
** 'Shush! I want to see this movie ad'
Surprise, movie-goers accepting of commercials
Media Life Magazine - 5/21/2003
** L-o-o-ng strings of ads before movies rankle audiences, enrich theaters
Plain Dealer, Cleveland, OH - 4/20/2003
** Ad Nauseam
Class action lawsuit aims to subtract pre-movie ads
Failure Magazine - 4/11/2003
Turn off the house lights and hold the commercials
Lawyer sues to keep movie times honest
USA Today - 4/2/2003
Some moviegoers resent new 'commercial' trend
Midland Reporter-Telegram - Midland, TX - 3/04/2003
Illinois Woman Wants Reel Time, Not Ads
Adbusters - 02/26/2003
Cinema ads draw ire of filmgoers
Movie companies say product enriches theater experience
Savannah Morning News - 2/25/2003
Exhibitors Draw Fire on Pre-Movie Blurbs
High school teacher Miriam Fisch wants those four minutes of her life back -- and she thinks Loews Cineplex ought to pay for their alleged theft.
Reuters - 2/20/2003
Attack of the 50-Foot Ads!!!
We all know what an ad is: we've been seeing them for years. But not inside the movie theatres.
KRON-TV San Francisco - 2/20/2003
Pre-movie ads rip off theatergoers, suits claim
How much is three to four minutes of your time worth--especially when you're waiting for the latest "Lord of the Rings" movie to start?
Chicago Sun-Times - 2/19/2003
If you don't like commercials at movies, why not sue?
In the cinematic experience, commercials shown before movies probably rate down there with trilling cell phones and stepping in that sticky amalgamation congealed on theater floors.
Daily Herald, Chicago - 2/19/2003
Attack of the 40-foot ads
Promotions in the lobby, cheesy slides on screen, then commercials. We paid $9 for this? Theater owners know we hate them, but those ads aren't going away.
Los Angeles Times - 11/17/2002
The Captive Audience, Shales Gets Shalesian, My Three Notes
So, you don't like sitting through commercials at the movie theater? Tough luck, says Ricardo Baca.
Online Journalism Review - 9/23/2002
Burning Questions
If you thought Minority Report was long, consider how much time you spent in the theatre enduring the advertisements before the film began.
Eye - Toronto, ON, CAN - 7/11/2002
This Movie Ticket Costs Too Much
Although Regal Entertainment Group has the nation's greatest number of movie screens, its IPO price looks a tad glitzy
BusinessWeek Online - 5/13/2002
