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We all know that movie theaters have the biggest margin on popcorn, drinks, and other snacks. Their take on the tickets can be insignificant compared to the gargantuan amounts they rake in for a bucket of popcorn that costs them cents.
Another big source of income for them is the advertisements that run before the movie. Before even the trailers. However, by the time you add on both these ads and the trailers, it can feel like you have been sitting there for ages before the damn movie starts.
So how much is too much?
The UK’s Sky News spoke to all of the major movie theater chains to find out if there was any hard and fast rule on the amount of upfront material before the feature presentation:
Cineworld
Cineworld says ads and trailers “normally last between 30-45 minutes before the actual film begins”.
The theater chain also asks customers to collect tickets at least 20 minutes before the listed time “to make the most of their visit”. That’s more time to buy overpriced snacks.
Odeon
Odeon runs shorter. According to them, advert and trailer length is “typically 15-25 minutes” but they also warn this can vary.
Like CIneworld, they also recommend patrons arrive well before start time to avoid missing anything.
Everyman
Everyman says they usually stick to a maximum of 25 minutes worth of adverts and trailers.
However, they also say “the length of ads and trailers varies for special events and it can be between 15 and 40 minutes, subject to type of event”.
Showcase
There isn’t any specific information on the website and we got no response when we reached out to them, but Showcase did respond to a customer on social media on this very question.
In a May 2022 tweet, the cinema said: “The advertised time is when the adverts/ trailers start and are approximately 20-25 minutes long before each show.”
Vue
Vue told the news outlet that “most films have around 20 to 25 minutes of ads and trailers before the feature starts.”
Usual guidance also applies of being in your seat at the time stated so you “don’t take any chances in missing the start of your film”.
Quite a lot of the advertising packages for theaters are sold via a third party. The biggest is Digital Cinema Media, which supplies advertisements for the likes of Odeon, Vue and Cineworld
Parking & Babysitting
Karen Stacey, chief executive, stated they work on a 12+12 rule of thumb – 12 minutes for ads, and 12 for trailers. She says they try and be as consistent as possible as that suits customers. She said 24 minutes gives schedulers enough time to prepare the film and allow a more staggered entry for the audience while still having enough for a decent revenue stream.
Kathryn Jacob, chief executive of rival cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean, said that for them the length was determined by the cinema, and that the BFI IMAX only ever takes one ad before the trailers.
The article also points to interesting research published by DCM that states that advertising in cinemas is more effective than in any other media. For a 60-second advert in the cinema, viewers will watch 48 seconds, which is a far higher proportion than TV or social media.
Customers have expressed frustration with the varying lengths, stating it makes it hard to plan and as a result they have incurred parking fines for overstaying due to presentations running long or had to contact babysitters mid-movie to extend their stay.
I personally don’t rush for the ads, but I always make sure I am in the theater for the trailers. What about you, Outposters?
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