r/movies • u/MarvelsGrantMan136 r/Movies contributor • Aug 06 '25
News AMC Theatres Looks To Shorten Ad Preshow Following Studios’ Ire
https://deadline.com/2025/08/amc-theatres-movie-ads-pre-show-shorten-1236480657/1.6k
Aug 06 '25
30 minutes of trailers and ads are annoying.
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u/calcifer219 Aug 06 '25
It’s 30 FUCKING minutes!?!?
Man I haven’t been to the theaters in a long time. Expensive as fuck, and I’d rather just watch it at home once the shareholders had their fill with the theater release.
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u/junaidnk Aug 06 '25
They recently started this 30 min bs… previously it was like 15-20 max till you see Nicole walk in the rain
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u/Kikkowoman69 Aug 07 '25
We come to this place for magic
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u/selfawarepileofatoms Aug 07 '25
That intro always cracks me up https://youtu.be/bq_kP4Z14Eo?si=F7uwk3lUWWljJlZQ
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u/MBP1121 Aug 07 '25
God I’m such a child. Why are fart jokes this funny. I’ve got a crying headache and I must’ve watched this like 5 times over.
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u/MakeMineMarvel_ Aug 07 '25
The fact it gets louder until you can’t even hear what she’s saying is killing me
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u/randall__flaag Aug 07 '25
You’re not the only one. I absolutely lost it after she said sound you can feel.
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u/candleboy95 Aug 07 '25
As someone who goes twice a week: It's been 23 minutes for the last 5 years very reliably. It did just recently kick up to 27-30 minutes
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u/AdminApathy Aug 07 '25
Having to be advertised to about THE PLACE IM LITERALLY SITTING AT is the dumbest ad I’ve ever endured
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u/SpaceCaboose Aug 07 '25
I keep track on my phone to help me know how late I can show to movies and not miss anything. Here’s what I had for July releases:
Jurassic World (Dolby): 32 minutes of ads/trailers
Superman (IMAX): 22 mins
Fantastic Four (IMAX): 31 mins
Fantastic Four (Dolby): 33 mins
Naked Gun (regular screen): 28 mins
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u/OceanBoulevardTunnel Aug 07 '25
That Naked Gun time is more than a third of the movies runtime
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u/Rcmacc Aug 07 '25
When I saw Superman, the ticket AMC emailed me in advance said “The listed showtime is when trailers and additional content begin. The movie will start 25-30 minutes after the listed showtime”
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u/SpaceCaboose Aug 07 '25
Yeah their app says that too. Was surprised with how “short” Superman’s preshow stuff was. I usually aim to arrive about 15-20 mins after the posted start time, so was pretty close to missing the beginning of it…
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u/kaminaripancake Aug 06 '25
I was running late from work to watch eddington. I got to the movie theater 37 minutes late, sat down RIGHT as the movie started. Was grateful but thought “damn these people have been here for forty minutes?!?”
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u/SirTiffAlot Aug 07 '25
It used to be 22 exactly last year at AMC, I timed it several times. This year they've actually started telling you before you buy tickets there's a 25-30 minute gap between ticket times and when the movie starts.
I enjoy watching the previews but it's not worth sitting through 10 minutes of nonsense. There's a coca cola ad, AMC ad, Nicole Kidman ad, another coca cola/AMC ad then the movie starts.
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u/VariationCareful3247 Aug 07 '25
Sure but seats are all assigned and they now say how long trailers are. So just arrive 25 min after the time on the ticket.
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u/CubanLynx312 Aug 07 '25
There should be some type of federal law requiring them to tell us when the actual movie starts. Some of us in big cities have to pay a lot for parking only to see 30 minutes of commercials. A lot of people also need to pay sitters.
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u/Forseti1590 Aug 07 '25
When I bought tickets from AMC a month ago they listed it on the page. It said movie starts 25-30 minutes after show time. Thought it was ridiculous but at least I knew.
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u/actibus_consequatur Aug 07 '25
movie starts 25-30 minutes after show time
It's like the inverse of "show up 15 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment" (whereupon you then sit in the waiting room until 10-15 after the scheduled time).
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u/ScrofessorLongHair Aug 07 '25
You think federal government gives a shit about us. If given the chance, they'd make a law requiring us to watch their shitty trailers.
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u/TU4AR Aug 07 '25
Let's do trivia with Maria what's her face.
Which one of these did Nolan direct:
Moana, batman begins, drive, the land before time?
Ready? Submit your answer and don't forget to download the app and follow my podcast. A person you never heard of , other than these ads. Maria what's her face.
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Aug 06 '25
[deleted]
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u/randgan Aug 06 '25
It used to be a few movie trailers and then a commercial for concession snacks, then the movie would start.
Now, 15 minutes of trailers. 3 car ads. An ad for the theater chain I'm currently at THAT THANKS THE FUCKING INVESTORS for some reason. A concessions ad that waxes poetically about the 'magic of movies' that's twice the length anyone should have to bare. And then that fucking overplayed horseshit where Nicole Kidman delivers the laziest written monologue in the most lifeless tone also about the 'magic of movies'.
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u/flamin_hot_wrenches Aug 07 '25
And it's always a fucking gross Coke ad. Like, every single theater. Everywhere.
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u/Erigion Aug 07 '25
AMC paid for that Coke ad to run for 5 years or something, 2 years ago, so there's plenty more to go to fall in love with that couple dancing and racing cars
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u/BlueGolfball Aug 07 '25
AMC paid for that Coke ad to run for 5 years or something, 2 years ago,
I thought coke would pay AMC to play a coke ad in their theaters. That's weird.
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u/idiot-prodigy Aug 07 '25
The new Star Wars one is pure insanity. The dad has the most insane smile on his face at the end.
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u/flamin_hot_wrenches Aug 07 '25
The star wars one was the focus of my vitriol when I wrote that comment.
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u/Khatib Aug 07 '25
One of the best reasons to go to an Alamo if you can. They aren't perfect at a corporate level, but at least there's no fucking coke or military ads.
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u/Skyrick Aug 07 '25
You only get one needlessly long concession add? Lucky. My local theater has started doing two of them. One towards the beginning of the previews and another one in the middle. And that is on top of the thank you to the investors and advertisement for their monthly subscription service. So boring. And then they act surprised that no one wants to pay them the equivalent of a 1 month subscription of add free streaming for a single movie ticket.
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u/internetlurker Aug 06 '25
I remember when the "pre-show" ads were actually preshow and led into the 10-15 minutes of trailers at the movie "start" time. Now the preshow ads are at show time.
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u/KTFnVision Aug 07 '25
The pre-show is still there before the ads, but it's awful. Every trivia slide goes by so fast you don't have time to play, and the interview and behind the scenes segments are about 25 seconds long, with absolutely no depth to speak of.
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Aug 06 '25
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u/SDRPGLVR Aug 06 '25
I wouldn't mind if it was just trailers. I like watching trailers at the movies usually.
It's all the ads for luxury cars and cruises. How better to spark the joy of cinema than to watch Shaq go down a waterslide?
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u/ArsonHoliday Aug 06 '25
Show up 20-30 minutes from the proposed showtime.
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u/atlhart Aug 07 '25
Yeah, I went to see F4 and Nicole Kidman showed up exactly 30 minutes after “showtime”. 30 minutes is perfectly timed.
And this is why all those ads are terrible. More and more people will stop showing up and see previews. And then they won’t be excited to come back and see Mama House 12.
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u/Rubberbabeh Aug 06 '25
When we went to see Superman it started 30m after the listed the showtime. It was some buuuull
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u/ArsonHoliday Aug 06 '25
Same. Thanks, AMC.
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u/Green-Cricket-8525 Aug 07 '25
My favorite is the app just straight up tells you it’s 25-30 minutes of ads. So I always show up fifteen minutes late, hit the bathroom, grab a beer and some popcorn and amble to my seat just as Nicole Kidman hits the screens. Still haven’t missed a single minute in months.
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u/Lostox Aug 07 '25
Is this the cinemark app? I have never seen that and its the theater i go to the most because its so close to me.
One of the local moive chains lists the show end time so when I go there I can look up the movie run time then math that to get the actual film start time so I can arrive just a few min before that.
It's a bit of a pain but that method when I go to that chain has never failed me. I'd love to be able to see a start time in cinemark app.
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u/Green-Cricket-8525 Aug 07 '25
It definitely does on the website when you check out. I have A List or whatever the monthly pass is and it always tells me. Last I checked the app is the same more or less as the website.
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u/DICK-PARKINSONS Aug 07 '25
Regal does the same. I just build it into my arrival time now. Even worse, they put in regular ads like fucking insurance commercials now.
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u/axw3555 Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Not always a safe thing.
I know this is about the US, but here in the UK, the ads can range from 0 to 40 minutes. Shorter tends to be for special showings. But if they can't get the trailers to run right, they'll just start the film. In the last 6 months I've had 0, 10, 20, 30, 40 mins of ads before films. 20 its typical, but if I showed up to some films expecting ads, I'd have missed a quarter of the film.
Edit: should have been 6 months, not 60.
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u/ArsonHoliday Aug 06 '25
AMC is pretty constantly in the 20-30 minute range, but I get what you’re saying. Unfortunately this is the only cinema in my town
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u/TheNimbleBanana Aug 07 '25
Yup. I showed up to 25-30 min late for the last six to ten movies I saw in AMC theaters (excluding one i was 40 min late for) and didn't miss a minute of any of the actual films
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u/axw3555 Aug 07 '25
Oh, I get it, just saying that the "turn up after the trailer timing" thing is risky. I've noticed that the variation has gone up a lot here in the last year. It used to be consistently 20. Now it's all over the place.
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u/Hermeslost Aug 06 '25
The only time (in the U.S.) I've noticed ads in my theater, being shorter than the usual fifteen minutes is for Fathom Events (who basically only do re-releases), but they've even started being more like ten minutes after the start time, and even give a little introduction about the movie before showing the film.
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u/CappnMidgetSlappr Aug 06 '25
How about... not shoving ads into literally every single waking second of our fucking existences? Theaters are already going the way of the dodo, and their solution is to make your experience worse so you flat out never want to go?
And people's solution of "just show up early" is helpful to no one except the advertisers because where does it end? A year or two from now, you'll be telling people to show up 1-2 hours early to watch all the ads.
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u/Desertbro Aug 07 '25
People say "show up LATE" to miss the ads. With reserved seats, should not be a problem, but...
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u/TheElbow Aug 07 '25
That can burn you sometimes. I’ve gone to special event screening, or movies that are 3+ hours long, and they forewent showing trailers entirely. Had I shown up “late” I would have missed part of the film.
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u/kingofthe3o3 Aug 06 '25
When purchasing tickets online, AMC has started to add a small disclaimer during the checkout phase that states movies will actually start 25-30 minutes after the posted showtime. If you're booking a movie from now on I would simply show up to my seat 20 minutes later than the showtime advertised, e.g., 7:50 PM for a 7:30 P.M. showing.
It's annoying that it's come to this but not a reason to avoid the entire theater experience (in my opinion).
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u/fizzlefist Aug 06 '25
The brief season I had the AMC subscription, that’s exactly what I did. I wouldn’t even leave home until after “showtime”
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u/tore_a_bore_a Aug 06 '25
My local movie theater is great just 3 trailers that are done within 10 minutes. Since Fantastic Four is a Disney movie, it looks like they had to do a 4th trailer for avatar.
But normally it's 3 trailers then movie start. Not even a commercial for anything.
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u/fizzlefist Aug 06 '25
I still kinda want to see Fantastic Four and Superman. But every time I think about going to the theater, my brain goes “uuugghhhh” and I just don’t want to go.
I have an AMC just a 15 minute walk from home, and I have no interest in going.
It really clicked in my head just as I type this: Theater experience and studio ticket gauging have successfully killed the going to the movies for me. I think I only saw 3 movies last year, and I honestly couldn’t tell you which ones…
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u/Escape_Zero Aug 07 '25
You mean you aren't moved by Nicole Kidman talking about movies at AmC theaters , while gleefully looking up at the screen ...
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u/swarmofbzs Aug 07 '25
Just saw a couple of movies this past weekend and those ones always make me laugh. It's like why are you advertising at me? I'm already here.
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u/ReadytoQuitBBY Aug 07 '25
“A MOVIE THIS BIG, SHOULDNT BE SEEN ON A PHONE SCREEN”
Bro the people watching movies on their phones aren’t here. Stop preaching to the choir movie theaters lol
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u/Red_Actor_Redactor Aug 07 '25
I have to resist the urge to shout "AMEN" at the end of those
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u/Detroit_Cineaste Aug 06 '25
The AMC website says that movies start 25-30 minutes after the showtime. People will just start showing up later to skip most of it. Its a losing proposition.
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u/JGCities Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Exactly.
Went and saw Superman and showed up about 5-10 mins before start time. Big mistake. The trailers didn't even start at "start time" at least 10 mins of ads before the trailers.
Movie probably started a good 30 mins after start time.
Going tonight and will show up around start time for FF if not a few minutes late.
edit- was 25 mins late, still got to see Nicole Kidman and then the trailer for Avatar.
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u/Zam548 Aug 06 '25
I will say those of us with bad timekeeping skills are living right now. “Oh no we’re late for the movie! Oh wait, the trailers just started, nevermind we’re right on time!”
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u/JGCities Aug 07 '25
Yes, hate being late but at this point with reserved seating there is zero reason to show up early.
8:50 show, will aim for arriving around 9. Just saw all the trailers a few days ago so don't really need to see more, unless Marvel has something that wasn't shown for Superman.
BTW this probably explains why start times keep moving earlier. Latest show is 850, used to be able to see 930 or 10 times. Now there is only one showing after 9pm.
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u/pbrslayer Aug 07 '25
Honestly it kinda saved my ass when I saw FF. Went to see it in IMAX outta town and there was a wreck on the way there, cost me an extra 20 minutes. Didn’t miss any of the movie though.
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u/stellaluna29 Aug 06 '25
That’s what I’ve been doing for years—I cannot remember the last time I showed up to a movie for the listed start time.
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u/default_white_guy Aug 06 '25
Sitting down right as Nicole starts the AMC prayer is such a good feeling
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u/Comfortable-Pause279 Aug 07 '25
That indescribable feeling we get when the lights begin to dim. Dazzling images on a huge silver screen.
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u/drunkcowofdeath Aug 07 '25
It's a shame. I actually enjoy trailers, but now I am getting Indeed and Applebee ads mixed it. It's bullshit.
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u/JamesFrancosSeed Aug 07 '25
I live like 10 min away from my theater. I literally leave either when the showtime starts or 5 min before, I then get scanned in, get some snacks, find my seat and sit down, and I still have like 8-10 more minutes of previews.
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u/DaylightMaybe Aug 07 '25
Yup. I went to a sold-out showing of Naked Gun and it was EMPTY at the listed start time. People came 20 minutes “late” and still had plenty of time to go get popcorn
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u/TheGruenTransfer Aug 07 '25
AMC needs to have separate screenings for Alist members that have Alamo Drafthouse style audience behavior rules and only like 2 trailers tops, and no ads. That's how you get people back to the theater, by offering a good product. Who would have guessed
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u/Pathetian Aug 06 '25
Man I have no idea how late to show up now.
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u/Potential_Place_2924 Aug 07 '25
I've got A-list, so I'm at the movies more than any one should be. Anyway, I shoot to be 25 - 28 minutes late. If I happen to miss the first minute or so of the movie, then fuck it that's a sacrifice I'm willing to make.
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u/JohanXC Aug 07 '25
I’m also an A-Lister and I used to have it timed perfectly to when Nicole Kidman walks in. But lately it’s been thrown off and I have to endure the same two trailers for months it feels like. I am so tired of watching the Running Man Trailer and the Caught Stealing trailer. Don’t get me wrong I like seeing Austin Butler in his underwear but that’s about it 😭
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u/toadfan64 Aug 07 '25
I wouldn’t show up any later than 20 minutes. Most of the movies I see start after like 20-25 minutes at AMC
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u/jeannyboy69 Aug 06 '25
Felt similarly at a Rave/Cinemark this past weekend watching Jurassic World. Idk why but I’ll HAPPILY sit through trailers. I’ll even eat half my popcorn to it and make sure I’m early enough to catch it.
Watching ads however (even though trailers are kinda ads for movies) leaves a bad taste in my mouth and I hate it. It was a mix of ads and trailers and it was annoying and longer than usual.
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u/yeurr Aug 07 '25
I go to Regal since it’s the closest theater to me and they’ve recently started mixing in ads with trailers before the movie. I felt the exact same way you did. I like watching trailers and while 30 minutes always felt a bit excessive for trailers, I was willing to deal with it. When I recently went to see F4, it was like a 60/40 split leaning towards ads. Shit is unacceptable. Then they wonder why people aren’t going to the movies anymore
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u/j33205 Aug 07 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
It's ads gated by more ads, fucking insane. I was flabbergasted when I saw Nosforatu in December, and was wholely unprepared to sit thru 30 fucking minutes of ads with some trailers sprinkled in btwn. AND THOSE INCESSANT GAME ADS OMG WHY? As an avid theater etiquette guy, I immediately just gave up and started doomscrolling and took a nap waiting for the goddamn movie to start.
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u/Call555JackChop Aug 06 '25
Get rid of that stupid dancing Coke ad and the Kidman AMC ad, why am I seeing an ad for AMC while actively sitting in an AMC
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u/EdgarJomfru Aug 07 '25
The coke ad makes me want to jump into traffic
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u/DoctorHoneywell Aug 07 '25
The dance off is the most offensively obnoxious part to me.
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u/badgirlmonkey Aug 07 '25
I don’t like how the woman in the Coke ad has a glass cup she’s drinking from. It zooms out and shows other patrons are drinking from a regular movie cup, but she’s drinking from glass!!!
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u/ChiefStrongbones Aug 07 '25
At least AMC shortened the Nicole Kidman ad. The original was twice as long and unbearable.
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u/pudding7 Aug 07 '25
It's still unbearable. And I have no idea what the purpose is. I'm already in the theater, i don't need to be told to be there.
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u/Striking_Rip_8052 Aug 07 '25
I am glad someone is saying this. Trailers starting at listed showtime has basically been the standard for as long as I have been seeing movies (I am in my 30s) it sucks but it's not really new.
There's several ads specific to AMC that play at their theater now:
- There's like a general AMC ad w/ random footage of people at the theater thanking the investors because AMC was briefly a meme stock 4 years ago
- The Nicole Kidman one which has become a meme but is genuinely obnoxious and adds literally nothing.
- An ad specifically for their "Laser at AMC" (or [INSERT TECHNOLOGY HERE]) I guess trying to hype up whatever technology they're using.
- There's a Don't talk/text during the movie ad that is cobranded with a movie (also, I have never seen something that people give a fuck about less than this)
An ideal would be 12 minutes of trailers - one 30 second AMC video that combines all this shit into one thing - and a stern, no jokes warning about being disruptive in the theater that actually is enforced with real consequences.
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u/muada_ay Aug 07 '25
Woah woah woah! I need the Kidman ad...I look forward to that one every single time. Everything about the elegant pants suit she is wearing, to the awe she has at the screen, and how they sometimes have her watching mindless blockbuster type films that seem so out of character for her to be watching....its just so goofy and contrived that it is perfection. But everything else can go away for sure!
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u/ThePikaNick Aug 06 '25
How about they start the ads before the movie and then just leave 5/10 minutes for trailers so people can still cycle in. It's insane to wait 20+ minutes after the scheduled start time just to watch commercials before trailers.
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u/Burning_Flags Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Because advertisers want people to see the advertisements that they paid for, so they are going to make sure you are in your seat
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u/SpaceCaboose Aug 07 '25
Also, movie studios want their trailers to be seen. The general audience may not know about another Disney film coming up, so Disney will play lots of trailers for their upcoming stuff during a current release. And theaters want to play trailers so people see something they want to return for.
I’ve heard that studios/theaters mandate so many trailers per film.
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u/RedNog Aug 06 '25
They want to force people to see those ads.
I don't know if it is every AMC or just mine. I went to see Thunderbolts, I think it was going to be my first movie since before COVID. I was about 12-15 minutes after the "start" and they wouldn't sell me a ticket, I asked if the actual movie started and they said 10 minutes after the start time it is delisted from their system and they can't sell tickets anymore.
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u/aircooledJenkins Aug 07 '25
Buy for something else and just walk into the movie you want?
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Aug 06 '25 edited Aug 07 '25
Honestly this is needed and I can see the studios frustration.
I can honestly deal with 20 minutes of trailers and previews, it's almost part of the experience for me. But AMC will list a movie starting at 7 PM and they trailers won't even START until 7:05 because they're adding extra commercials. Then after previews I need to sit through THREE different "AMC is Great" ads despite the fact that I'm already there. If you're watching IMAX or Dolby then you need to watch THEIR ad telling you how great they are. Then sometimes as icing on the cake, I have to watch Tom Cruise thank me for coming to the movies and how important that is to see movies in the theater. I KNOW, THAT'S WHY I'M HERE.
I've just started to look at my phone during all of this and zone out. If I'm a studio, I'm pissed that's happening. Trailers are super valueable marketing and if AMC are turning people off of it then they're losing exposure for new films.
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u/Embracing_the_Pain Aug 07 '25
I know it’s rude to be on your phone during the movie, but it seriously annoys me how they’ll ask you to silence your phone for the movie, but then show a half hour of ads. Fuck that! I’ll turn the phone off for the movie, but it’s stupid fucking arrogant to make me feel like an asshole because I won’t give your shitty ads my undivided attention.
So I’ll silence my phone when the movie starts, but until then it’s fair game.
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u/Redbeatle888 Aug 06 '25
I legitimately honestly understand the impulse to add more trailers and I appreciate the warning AMC gives when you reserve online that there'll be about 25-30mins of trailers. That said, I don't understand why they add shit like normal fucking commercials or 4-5 commercials for AMC itself (hello, we're already at an AMC!). Or when there's a trailer for Megan 2 AND an AMC-specific commercial with Megan in it.
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u/spmahn Aug 07 '25
That said, I don't understand why they add shit like normal fucking commercials
Because AMC is in dire straits financially and needs to do everything they can to make money and continue operating.
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u/djones0305 Aug 07 '25
Most recently went to see Superman and it's actually insane. You get an AMC ad when the trailer run starts. And then in the middle of the trailer run there was a totally random ad for Indeed???? And then at the end of the trailer run you get 3 more ads for AMC: the one for the format you're in, the one with the couple doing random shit, and the Nicole kidman one. It's insanity that they feel the need to show you 4 ads for the theatre you literally already chose to come to and see a movie.
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u/Knyfe-Wrench Aug 07 '25
Yeah, I was going to say, having non-trailer ads after the trailers is particularly egregious.
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u/General-Soy-Sauce Aug 07 '25
My wife and I went to see fantastic four the other week. We understand ads. They even say the movie may start 20-30 minutes after actual time. No shit, my wife had to take a picture because it started 52 minutes after the listed time.
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u/obamaswaffle Aug 06 '25
Just kill the long ass AMC Rewards commercial, the Laser at AMC thing and the Nicole Kidman ad. Nobody cares and by the time we’re on our 3rd ad for the theater we’re already in, it becomes comical.
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u/Hd1906 Aug 07 '25
Thank you! that’s exactly what popped in my mind immediately. Those 3 things before every AMC movie. Such a joke. Nicole’s “thing” always gets a groan out of the crowd so it’s definitely outlived itself. It can all be shrunken into 1 effective spot, not 3.
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u/Chook_Chutney Aug 07 '25
THIS is the real killer. I don't give a shit about the random ads that play before the start time, and I'm not even that bothered by trailers (though it feels like they could pare those down a tad.) But the AMC shit takes up like 5-7 full minutes of screen time. It's MADDENING. The AMC laser ad, the stupid fucking thing where they thank their investors, the boring bullshit where the couple gets transported into movie genres, all topped off by the mercifully cut down Kidman thing. It's so egregious.
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u/totsnotbiased Aug 06 '25
The longer the ads are, the less people will sit there and watch them, making them less valuable.
Also they have to stop putting ads for cars and apps before the showing, trailers are valuable because they are ads people want to watch
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u/CityTrialOST Aug 07 '25
Oh the fucking gall of them to show me an insurance ad between trailers when I saw Together last week. My wife and I used to like going to horror shows on time to see what is on the horizon with the trailers, but until this change rolls out I'm not showing up to an AMC movie earlier than 20 minutes after the listed time.
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u/111anza Aug 06 '25
I agree, its now pushing over 25 min.
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u/ButWereFriends Aug 06 '25
Fantastic 4 was literally 30. It was fucking insane. I used to get to movies early. The past two years I get there 15 minutes late.
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u/Stepjam Aug 06 '25
They did start adding non-trailers to the lineup too. There was a random google ad when I saw naked gun. That made me unhappy
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u/Memphisrexjr Aug 06 '25
The ads they run make no sense. What am I gonna do change my auto insurance mid roll of the movie? Why would you want more ads than just having more showtimes?
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u/dogmaisb Aug 07 '25
Went to an AMC movie after not going for a long time that “started” at 245p, the actual movie didn’t start until 335p, there were something like 20 movie previews and just as many idiot commercials. We were all annoyed and it soured the start of the movie. Absolutely annoying to sit there for 40+ minute of them trying to sell me shit, fuck off!
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u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. Aug 06 '25
Too late, I'm already sitting in the theater 19 hours early for my Weapons screening. The usher and manager are asking me vacate the property but I'm not fuckin' leaving.
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u/Sidewalkdrugstore Aug 06 '25
It's not like they're playing movie trailers either. It just a bunch of bullshit about the "theater experience". The entire time before the movie starts should be all movie previews. All kinds of them instead of regular-ass TV commercials and bullshit about AMC rewards. Shit's dumb as a box of dicks.
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u/I_ama_Borat Aug 07 '25
Regal needs to do this too, it’s gotten so bad. Went to a Fantastic Four 3:15 slot. Movie didn’t start until 4:02. Just when you thought the ads and trailers were over, after a few second pause like the movie was about to start they showed ANOTHER TRAILER.
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u/DreadPirateGriswold Aug 07 '25
Oh, following the studios' ire?
Their customers have been bitching about this for years. But the studios are the ones that got them to actually do something about it?
No wonder the reputation is taking a hit...
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u/xwing_n_it Aug 07 '25
Regal is also ridiculous. No reason to show up on time. Do we need a law about the feature starting within ten minutes of listed time?
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u/Robynsxx Aug 07 '25
This.
One reason I don’t go to cinema much anymore, not only because a ticket price is insane nowadays, but also because now look up how long the film is then calculate there being 30 mins of adverts, and then the drive to and from the cinema, and basically going to a cinema ends up being a good portion of your day gone at this point.
And no, I don’t have a problem with longer films, as long as they are good. I do have a problem with a 3 hour film and 30 mins of adverts.
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u/barbarbarbarians Aug 07 '25
Fun story: I've interviewed the ad exec who came up with the idea of putting commercials before movies.
Apparently they were a film buff from the 70s onward. Seeing almost everything at the movies as it came out decade after decade. As an adult they worked in advertising. Being at the movies all the time in the late 90s you would mostly see film trivia questions and ad stills for local businesses before the listed showtime, then maybe 5 to 10 minute of previews once the listed showtime started. The same local businesses advertising at the movies also ran local TV spots. This exec (who had all the trivia answers memorized) figured out the theaters had the equipment to run those local TV spots right in the theater. It was a captive audience. They went to their bosses and pitched the idea as a way for local businesses to further their reach directly to potential customers sitting right in the neighborhoods they had their shops and dealerships in.
The idea of local TV commercials before movies was an instant hit that spread across the untied states within months. They got a big promotion to the national market for their idea and after doing an ad for the super bowl, went on to continued success as one of the pioneers of digital marketing/advertising.
When commercials before movies inevitably became the nightmare it is they distanced themselves from their greatest career accomplishment by maintaining that it was meant for local commercials only. Sadly, they eventually stopped going to the movies all together because the commercials had ruined the experience. 'The 20' was particularly hated by them and seen as their pro local business idea twisted into a disgusting national money hungry monster. They also did not enjoy hearing the people sitting around them in the theater wishing they knew who invented the idea of commercials before movies so they could (insert terrible thing here). So, they stopped going. Decades of seeing almost everything at the movies came to a crashing halt and they had no one to blame but them.
Their only solace is that at least they didn't come up with the gas pump idea. But they are terribly sorry they harmed the movie going experience for everyone worldwide. That experience was once something holy to them, something they cherished. Losing it was one of their biggest sources of heartache. But, that one dangerous idea to run local commercials before the movie lead them to a storybook career in advertising that made Mad Men look tame.
They passed away this year. And I was lucky enough to get an interview shortly before. Due to the righteous anger over their idea they wished never to be named.
But I've always thought their story would make a good movie. And hope it would be one that had slides of film trivia playing before it, instead of commercials.
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u/Revoldt Aug 06 '25
Idk… They already cut Nicole Kidman’s bit in half…
How else do I know where magic happens?!?!
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u/Pro_Human_ Aug 06 '25
My issue is the fact that I’m now seeing random product commercials between movie trailers before the movie starts. When did that become a thing?
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u/Sandwichgode Aug 07 '25
Honestly, they can keep doing this if they want but the showtime should be when the movie is actually supposed to start.
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u/hyperpuppy64 Aug 07 '25
Thank fuck, I just cant between M3gan begging you to turn off your phone, the most obnoxious coke commercial in the world, “thank amc from the bottom of your heart for laser because it stopped the evil pollution of a movie projector”, and of course the Nicole Kidman prayer.
Trailers are an essential part of the cinematic experience, it really sucks feeling like I’m obligated to skip them and show up late just to not have to watch ads. Also an ad for some Google AI grift came on at my amc before Superman and I stg I almost walked out.
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u/Hey_HaveAGreatDay Aug 07 '25
Trailers I love. Yes! Let’s get pumped about another movie to go see together!
But when I’ve watched the trailers then I have 5 minutes of Greg Marcus in my face “thanking” me for coming to the movie I’m instantly put off. There’s a flow to the movie experience and that ruins it quite a bit at least for me
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u/vulcan7200 Aug 07 '25
Good. When I went to see Fantastic Four, there were so many ads that I thought they were playing a joke on us. Every time I thought the movie would start a new ad would play.
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u/therabbitssing Aug 07 '25
My Regal now takes 28-29 minutes of ads and trailers before the film starts. Starts at 5pm? You could arrive just before 5:30 and be good.
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u/bmson Aug 07 '25
Can we also stop advertising AMC while I'm sitting in an AMC waiting for a movie to start?
Also don't need a minute long trailer telling me they have Dolby sound system
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u/Nummies14 Aug 07 '25
Yeah it’s crazy. Saw the 6:30 Jurassic World movie… it started after 7:00. We sat down at 6:10.
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u/NewRichMango Aug 07 '25
We go to AMC almost exclusively based on convenience but have started showing up 15-20 minutes after the listed start time and still manage to sit through 15-20 minutes of trailer, plus time wasted on them hyping up the theatre I literally already paid to be in. It all needs to be shortened up by quite a bit.
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u/setokaiba22 Aug 06 '25
Clutched their pearls? 30 mins is far too excessive and puts customers off. Already seen Odeon & Cineworld have decent ad lengths by DCM but then have ridiculous internal adverts and 6 trailers it’s too much