I would not mind the commercials so much if they were at least interesting. I envision this as a great venue to showcase new commericials where they can utilize the grand nature of the theater (big pic, doby, etc . . .).Instead, these are basically the same commercials you see on t.v.

Yeah, this is a big reason I don't see films in theaters anymore (well, the cost of tickets and popcorn is another). Ads before movies are plain insulting -- you can't change the channel or fast-forward, you are stuck to sit there and watch. I've heard that there are people out there trying to get this banned, and another person who was trying something similar so that a movie had to start playing when it was supposed to -- that is, the eight o'clock showing starts at 8pm, not the lights dim at 8 and 15 minutes of ads start showing.

(from an old Roger Ebert Movie Answer Man -- located at http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/features/roger_ebert/ebert_samples.htm )

"John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, has been quoted as saying: "You can either have movies with ads and pay $7 a ticket, or you can pay $12 a ticket and not have commercials." If anyone has found a first-run theater that has lowered its prices because of commercials, please let me know. In the meantime, Chicago attorney Douglas Litowitz has filed a class-action lawsuit against commercials in movie theaters, and has a Web site about his campaign at www.nomovieads.com.")

In the UK, the ads that run before the movies are really quite entertaining--think of the BMW minimovies on the web or the John Major Salmon ad. The ads are both a bit spicy and hilarious. Just as I don't object to the cinema running previews for upcoming movies (which are a form of ads), I might accept ads that were designed for this forum. But the current ones you get are just the worst.

About 25 years ago there were a few movies shown in San Francisco along with commercials. It was quite a shock. I should have complained. It was later revealed that they were testing the audience reactions to gauge whether they could get away with it or not. There were very few complaints, so here we are today with tv commercials in the theaters. Sucks.

or have independent short films replace all commercials before movies. like an opening act. big money movies can team up with low budget short films so they can show their movies together. it gives new film makers a chance of beeing seen and does not annoy the film viewer with intellectually insulting advertisements.

I'd usually say no commercials. But sometimes, they save the first 10 minutes of the movie for me when I'm late. :)

With theatres with so many screens, why not offer two options: one movie with ads and one without ads. Prices could be adjusted accordingly --Less for the ads and more for non-ads. Or have the ads at the end. And for those sticking around, offered coupons for almost anything.

What really bugs me about their commercials is that I can't change the channel or turn the page. They plug right into your skull, and you can't even step outside for fear of somebody stealing their seat. When I go to the movies, I only want to see the movie I paid for.

As for the cost of the movie going up without commercials, I find that hard to believe. A ticket is going to cost what the market will bear. Without commercials it's still going to be $7, or else Blockbuster Video will reap the rewards.

I like the ads (except the military ones, which are the same as tv) and I make an active effort to filter advertising from everywhere else in my life. I think movie trailers are (generally) of good quality, allow a little breathing room for promptness to your movie, and maybe expose you to the idea of a movie you will never see. A good deal of my movie Trivial Pursuit-type knowledge is from these trailers. If you don't like them, get your movies from Netflix instead.

Though I dislike the advertising before the movie, I am not completely against them (maybe it's the greedy guy in me).When a movie is supposed to start at 8, I think the previews should start at 8 (I like previews) and no commercials.

But why not show commercials between showtimes, instead of some of the very strange movie related trivia and other crap that gets shown. Potentially theatres could show more ads (better for them) and they are only shown to people who showed up early (and who actually gets into the theatre at exactly 8?)

I'm tired of commercials before movies, I paid to come and see a movie, not the commercials. If I want to watch commercials, I'll stay at home and watch cable and save some money. Previews are one thing, but stupid, annoying commercials are another. Get rid of them! And I sure as heck would not pay extra for a ticket to not watch commercials, if it came down to that, I wouldn't go and watch a movie at all, I would just wait for it to come out on the movie channels on cable.

Hmm, I'm torn on this one.

I like the ads when I'm late to a movie and I hadn't missed anything (which is pretty darn frequent, unfortunately) but I hate them when I get there on time (which is probably 1 out of 10 times) ... LOL

So, I am divided on this one!

Do you mean the advertising slides/stills that rotate for about 15 minutes before each movie? I've never been bothered by those. They're usually advertisements for services from the theater itself or local businesses. It would be interesting if they offered more on the screen than just an occasional "movie fact", but those are fun sometimes, too.

Anyway, they're easy enough to ignore. Rather than staring at the screen (you're not forced to, you know), just turn to the people you came with and have a conversation. That's what most people do when I'm at the theater.

Then again, maybe you're talking about something else. I haven't seen a movie in a theater since 1998.

It seems that a good and apparent idea is commercials, including, previews, are only shown immediately after the movies are shown. It is up to the moviegoers to decide whether to stay behind to enjoy them.

I don't object to advertising on broadcast TV, because the programming is delivered to me "free." I tolerate it on most of the 80 or so cable channels I receive because the programming originates far away, beyond the range of my receiver.

I don't like commercials on "Premium" cable channels, because I pay extra for the content, and I despise having ads crammed down my throat after I've paid several dollars for a theater ticket.

So my best revenge tactic is to hurt them where they're vulnerable- I don't buy their concessions. If I'm going to need to eat during one of their movies, I'll eat a granola bar I brought from home, but chances are I'll wait until after the movie to snack.

They make their money off the popcorn and the ice machine- but not from me...

In Philadelphia the City council is considering forcing the movie houses "truth in advertising" so the movie listing would have to print the time the movie itself actually starts.

Some theatres have discussed listing 2 times, one for previews & commercials and another for the actual movie time.

Commercials really took off when they were use to pay for free television and radio. I am already paying an insane price to view a movie there is no convincing argument that commercials have any place in a venue where i pay for admittance.

I can tell you one thing. Because of these Commercials I don't go to the movies but once every 6 or 7 years. I can't tell you if a movie had no Commercials if I would go more often but I think I might. How many people are not going to the movies like me? Joe in Florida

I disapprove less of a pre-movie commercial if it is at least of film-grade quality. TV commercials taken to the big screen scream of desperation on the part of the marketers, who are always looking for new captive audiences.

Simple enough, require movie theaters to post both the time when the theater opens for seating and also the actual time the featured presentation will start (6:35/6:55). They can intermix short reality tv or some such thing in with ads to make the whole thing interesting enough to enjoy.

I hate the commercials, but restricting free speech is not the answer.

Commercials in movies aren't new. They used to have a few of them--not many--in the 50s. Mostly in rural theaters, though.