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Usually companies try to maximize their profit potential any which way they can. They should be more forward thinking. This one looked like a slam dunk for Screenvision.

Not to mention: can't theaters show the movie more times (maybe not all movies, depending on length, but still) if they run fewer ads? Seems like a good deal to me: same revenue using less time?

Just as bad as the ads themselves, to me, is my vague suspicion that theaters are running *fewer* trailers... to make room for the ads. When people say "oh, it's 20-30 minutes before the movies start, what with all the ads, and then x minutes of trailers..." ... I feel like the only potential theater response (if any) would be to say "OK, let's run fewer trailers."

Big pet peeve of mine.

Watching commerciala (non movie related) before a movie.

Better before than during.

Sponsorship is a big revenue stream that screens lack right now. Especially sponsoring the whole theatre. You're giving companies like Mercedes a terrific business idea.

It's already happened in live theater... The American Airlines Theatre... The Ford Center (s),...

This whole thing made me think of The Twenty. One of the theaters I frequent here in DC shows this in place of pre-show music and trivia slides. "The Twenty" is basically 20 minutes of loud commercials and promos that leads up to the trailers. It's impossible to have even a pre-show conversation with your friends anymore w/o being bombarded with advertising that you cannot ignore. In short, it's pure evil.

Anyway, at the end of The Twenty, the announcer suggests to us, in all seriousness, that we show up earlier to the theater next time... so that we can catch ALL of The Twenty! Oh, boy! Can I please??? Cracks me up every time. This is the universe in which The Twenty's creators, as well as Screenvision, exist: a universe where not only is advertising good, but people will go out of their way to see 20 minutes of it.

So, do you think Screenvision executives would EVER concede that their product is negative? Not likely. To do so is an admission that advertisers are buying into an something negative. A hypothetical Philips deal also takes screens away from those other advertisers, and I don't imagine they'd be happy about that.

So even though a Philips deal is win-win in terms of immediate finance, it's not in terms of image, which can manifest itself financially further down the road.

But if Screenvision wanted to change its mind, I sure as hell wouldn't complain...

I live in DC as well and it's the Regal theaters that do The 2wenty (yes, they actually spell it like that, with a fucking 2). I timed it once -- it's actually more like a half hour but I guess "The 3hirty" isn't as much of a grabber.

Screenvision (Loews) is probably the best out of all the pre-show crap. They all have the same running length, but Screenvision isn't bombastic and flashy like The 2wenty or slow as molasses like AMC's constant run of movie trivia from 2002-2004. You can actually hear yourself talk (and think).

The movie trivia wasn't too bad if you see it once. But if you get to a theatre early and see it 3 times? You want to strangle yourself with your twizzlers.

"This whole thing made me think of The Twenty. One of the theaters I frequent here in DC shows this in place of pre-show music and trivia slides."

That is probably the biggest reason I HATE going to the Regal Gallery Place. I'll take the Loews G'town every day. And the Uptown, of course.

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