Why Weird Movie Theater Fads Just Don't Stick

The latest fad I've noticed is subjecting movie-goers to 20 minutes of ads before even the previews start. The family and I hit a "mainstream" cinema to see the latest Dracula movie. We were in our seats by the posted start time. I was expecting the previews to start then. I mean, I know they're not going to start the movie at the time they say they're going to start the movie. But I was kinda surprised they waited 20 minutes before starting the previews.

If your business model is "we're going to make you pay to sit in a dark room and listen to uncomfortably loud advertisements," then I think I'll just stay at home and catch it on streaming.

I contrast that with seeing Cocaine Bear in an EXTREMELY janky theater. The kind that looks like it's been fully depreciated. It looks like they popped the popcorn a few weeks ago. I'm glad they never turned the light on in the theater, I didn't want to see what was on the floor.

But... they didn't pelt me with ads. When I walked in, there was cheezy music being piped in. I sort of worried the projector was broken, but a few minutes before the time the movie was supposed to start, the previews started. No ads, just coming attractions. And only about 5 minutes of them. The movie started more-or-less on time and I'm happy to report the sound system was not completely blown out.

So it seems like my choices are: Clean Theater but I'm not the customer, I'm the product or Sketch Theater, but it's clear they're not getting paid for my eyeballs. I think my preference is to watch the movie on my PC after downloading it from a torrent site.