Get the show on the road, AMC says.
After the company’s decision to extend ad time last month caught flak among movie theatre goers and studio execs alike, it seems the theater group is trying to backtrack and reportedly shorten the pre-show ads before a movie begins.
Deadline reports that this crafty change is still in the works, and while specific details remain to be settled, it’s likely moviegoers will see a lighter load of ads in the coming months.
Eagle-eyed cinephiles noted that the movie theatre giant also recently included a new message on its online ticketing page, which reads: “The listed showtime is when trailers and additional content begin. The movie will start 25-30 minutes after the listed showtime.”
The Post reached out to AMC for comment.
Some AMC A-listers have expressed nothing but unbridled joy at the news — after all, at upwards of $15, those tickets don’t come cheap.
However, an overwhelming majority of film fans online are wholly worked up about it.
And some moviegoers — in the minority — actually enjoy the lengthy pre-show song-and-dance — but for most, the product ads are simply convenient.
“Can we get some midroll ads so I can use the bathroom during the movie?” joked one reply in an X (formerly Twitter) thread on the news.
“Bro not gonna lie, the ads are the only reason I make it there on time,” admitted a chronically late commenter, and another agreed: “The buffer saves so many butts running late.”
One user was seriously screwed up over the news, and wrote, “For the love of God, NOOOOO.”
“We DON’T need 3 separate promos introducing us to AMC. We KNOW where we are, get to the movie!!”
The scant ratio of trailers, on the other hand, was of note to many, including one single-minded cinephile, who wrote: “I just want trailers upon trailers upon trailers.”
Last month’s ad increase report came as a result of a new deal with National CineMedia Inc., per Bloomberg.
The company alleged that its competitors had been doing the same thing for years, so the pre-show extension simply offered AMC an opportunity to keep up — without jacking up ticket prices even further.
“For the past five years, AMC has sought out crucial revenue that is not reliant on the increase of base ticket prices,” an AMC rep said in a statement to Deadline.
“We’ve done this through more and better moviegoing enhancements like our significant expansion of PLFs, a greater selection of food and beverage offerings, and the introduction of movie-going merchandise like popcorn buckets and other collectible concession vessels,” the statement explained.
“They need to shorten those damn food and snack prices,” suggested one commenter as an alternative to the ad policy back-and-forth, but it’s doubtful this — very popular — sentiment will see any corporate concession anytime soon.
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