Theater Owners Seek New Rules About Trailer Length

[Supernova]

All of it is voluntary, and ultimately pointless without some kind of enforcement or incentive. I said last year, "There are too many and too long trailers for movies these days. I like trailers but they are becoming more and more a nuisance."

I just personally hate trailers for trailers that sites do now. Its like going to a restaurant and getting an appetizer to the appetizer.

 

[Marvolo]

All of it is voluntary, and ultimately pointless without some kind of enforcement or incentive. I said last year, "There are too many and too long trailers for movies these days. I like trailers but they are becoming more and more a nuisance."

Ive never cinsidered a good trailer a nuisance regardless of length. I like a lot of trailers and long trailers for a movies because imo trailers are art in themselves. Some are lazy and ****, but then you get some absolute gems: TDK Trailer 2 & MOS 3 minute traoler for example.

Just not a fan of theaters having a say in this. They play the movie and put up posters and cardboard stands. Just do it and dont fuss. Besides if they do cut the number of trailers and the length they will just cram in more popcorn and coke comercials.

 

[X Knight]

I don't mind the length of a trailer.

What I can't stand is the NUMBER of trailers they show before a movie.

they go on and on and on and on and on.............

 

[Marvolo]

I don't mind the length of a trailer.

What I can't stand is the NUMBER of trailers they show before a movie.

they go on and on and on and on and on.............

That cant really be helped what with the number of movies per year increasing.

And if they shorten the length of trailers it only going to increase the number of trailers or commercials shown. My theater shows 15-20 minutes of commercials and trailers. Not a certain amount of trailers. That 15-20 minute marketing tine slot isnt going to be changed.

 

[green]

I think this is all kinds of ridiculous. Theater owners can just do what they want, there's no reason that there needs to be stipulations made as to what the studio does.

 

[Snow Queen]

I'm more annoyed by the car and tech ads before the trailers even start. By the time the trailers start, it's the time that the film is supposed to be starting according to the ticket so it ends up always starting 10 minutes later than the ticket states. I wish they'd just start the trailers earlier.

 

[Macphisto]

These days even the trailers have trailers. End this madness. Now.

 

[Drizzle]

I am all for shortening the amount of trailers before a movie. However, I do have a problem with the rule that trailers can only be shown within five months of a movie coming out. Some of the best trailers out there have come out six months to a year before the actual film came out. They're essentially killing the teaser trailer.

 

[flickchick85]

However, I do have a problem with the rule that trailers can only be shown within five months of a movie coming out. Some of the best trailers out there have come out six months to a year before the actual film came out. They're essentially killing the teaser trailer.

Agreed. I love teasers.

Honestly, I don't blame the theater owners for wanting to regulate this stuff. It is getting out of hand. That said, as a theatergoer...I love trailers and can't get enough of 'em. I'll never complain about the amount of trailers before a movie. Ads? Yes. Trailers, no.

But trailers for trailers? That s*** needs to stop now.

 

[Marvolo]

The thing these theaters need to remember:

Theaters would have no reason to exist without movie studios. Movie studios CAN exist without movie theaters. Thats the thing to remember. Theaters have very little leverage. Movie theaters dont really have any power thats why these "rules" are voluntary. They cant enforce jack **** on the studios. Plus, the studios drop billions of dollars for rights and projects yearly so if the theaters cause too much marketing trouble for the studios they will open their wallets and hire lawyers or someone to shut the theaters up and leave them to do their marketing how they please.

 

[Teelie]

Without the theaters the studios would lose out on a lot of revenue because they are very much still trapped in the 20th Century. Studios are still very paranoid about piracy and reluctant to digitize movies for sale. They always require you buy a physical disc, or pay for it through a service like Netflix or Amazon where you merely rent them, not own them like you would a physical copy.

Sure, they can cut out the theaters and do direct to Blu-Ray or DVD but they aren't and if all the doom and gloom about physical media is true, they're even further behind in catching up with modern technology because physical media is supposedly a dead end.

So theaters still have a lot of importance to the studios's success but they aren't the sole source of income. Movies still trumpet their success from theaterical ticket sales, not from their Blu-Ray/DVD/streaming sales.

And the point is there are too many trailers that go on too long and take too long to get through. My first post I made pointed this out; 20 minutes before the movie itself came on, and this is after the movie was meant to start, not before.

 

[Marvolo]

Without the theaters the studios would lose out on a lot of revenue because they are very much still trapped in the 20th Century. Studios are still very paranoid about piracy and reluctant to digitize movies for sale. They always require you buy a physical disc, or pay for it through a service like Netflix or Amazon where you merely rent them, not own them like you would a physical copy.

Sure, they can cut out the theaters and do direct to Blu-Ray or DVD but they aren't and if all the doom and gloom about physical media is true, they're even further behind in catching up with modern technology because physical media is supposedly a dead end.

So theaters still have a lot of importance to the studios's success but they aren't the sole source of income. Movies still trumpet their success from theaterical ticket sales, not from their Blu-Ray/DVD/streaming sales.

And the point is there are too many trailers that go on too long and take too long to get through. My first post I made pointed this out; 20 minutes before the movie itself came on, and this is after the movie was meant to start, not before.

Idk ticket sales drop yearly and the window between theatrical and bluray releases on most major films is down to three months or less. Studios are slowly shifting to a new release procedure. In 10 years give or take I could see studios bypassing theaters entirely without hurting profits.

If i could get a movie on disc on the same day as the theatrical release id pay a premium and bypass the theater entirely in most cases. Sure some blockbusters id check out on screen, but id go buy the movie immediately after it i enjoyed it. Give films a smaller theatrical run window and release the bluray immediately at a premium. Once it leaves theaters drop the bluray price.

Theaters are just losing their appeal as i get older. The seats suck, my back hurts, and I pay $10 to see a film once with a bunch of noisy brats. Not exactly an ideal experience that theaters are presenting.

 

[flickchick85]

The studios may not need the theaters for their smaller films - they can just about recoup their entire investments and earn a little profit on those with VOD and home video alone already. But the business model for blockbusters is still heavily reliant on those 1st two weeks of theatrical release.

For smaller films, the exhibitor often gets up to 50% of the gross, even on opening weekend, but for tentpole releases, it's still only about 10% for the first couple weeks, which means 90% goes back to the distributor. That is a HUGE chunk of overall gross of a film and the studios couldn't make their profits without that...yet.

 

[Teelie]

Uh, tickets sales don't drop yearly. In fact 2012 was an extremely good year and 2013 wasn't exactly a slouch either. They have been fairly static over the past decade or more.

And with the exception of a few movies, most of them don't come out on disc until well after 3 months. More like 6 months or more in some cases.

Your personal preferences aside, theaters aren't going anywhere unless the studios squeeze too hard and choke them to death, which is close to happening.

 

[Rocketman]

This started becoming a problem in the early 2000s I think. The two most glaring examples being:

Cast Away (2000)
Spider-Man 2 (2004)

I don't think I've EVER seen more revealed in a trailer than those two.

But regarding this issue, if it were up to me, I would do away with the "Full-Length Trailer #2" in the industry. Right now, we've got "Teaser Trailer", "Full-Length Trailer #1", and "Full-Length Trailer #2".

A teaser can be somewhere around the 1:30 mar.
Trailer #1 is something like 2:00.
Trailer #2 ends up being around 2:30-3:00.

^ I find this preposterous. Just give us a teaser and a trailer.

And especially with big movies like The Dark Knight Rises and Man of Steel, we end up getting a FOURTH trailer like the Nokia trailers. It's completely insane.

 

[Marvolo]

Uh, tickets sales don't drop yearly. In fact 2012 was an extremely good year and 2013 wasn't exactly a slouch either. They have been fairly static over the past decade or more.

And with the exception of a few movies, most of them don't come out on disc until well after 3 months. More like 6 months or more in some cases.

Your personal preferences aside, theaters aren't going anywhere unless the studios squeeze too hard and choke them to death, which is close to happening.

Not in america Thor 2 comes out next month. Hunger Games come out in March. MOS was out in 5 months. Iron Man 3 was out in what 5 months? I dont know of a single blockbuster this year that came out 6 months after its theatrical release, butbi very well could be wrong on that point.

About ticket sales, with inflation considered and the cost of theaters going digital and upgrading and 90% of ticket profits going to studios in the first week, and only declining 10% a week for the following weeks. Studios are alresdy squeezing theaters like you say. I just dont see studios sufrering all that much when theaters go away or become obsolete. Studios are one of the most successful businesses inbthe world. Surely they have a plan of how to survive without theaters. I just dont thinkbits smart to bet against the studios in a deathmatch with theater chains. Its like a dog going up against a dragon. The dragon is gonna be having roast fido most likely.

 

[Teelie]

None of those came out in under 3 months was my point. I also said some come out after 6 months, not all.

 

[Blitzkrieg Bop]

I kinda get excited for a trailer when it's for a movie a year away. Like none of you needed new pants after seeing the one for Watchmen ahead of The Dark Knight.

 

[Marvolo]

None of those came out in under 3 months was my point. I also said some come out after 6 months, not all.

I aint got time for your fancy numbers and math!



Thats my bad. I cant read sometimes.

 

[Xeno]

Agreed. I love teasers.

Honestly, I don't blame the theater owners for wanting to regulate this stuff. It is getting out of hand. That said, as a theatergoer...I love trailers and can't get enough of 'em. I'll never complain about the amount of trailers before a movie. Ads? Yes. Trailers, no.

But trailers for trailers? That s*** needs to stop now.

The "trailer for a trailer" is a purely online phenomenon as far as I've seen, so that wouldn't affect theater owners and audiences at all.


If theater owners really want to cut down on audience complaints they should cut out the commercials they run for products and behind the scenes featurettes about television shows. Those things are interminable and run before every film. Most people resent sitting through 3D soda and snack ads, or having to watch cheesy promos for TV shows they're never going to see. These are the sort of ads that make going to the theater feel more like watching television at home than a special event. In local theaters I've seen ads for real estate companies, restaurants and dental practices, too. Is any of that really necessary?

 

[Marvolo]

The "trailer for a trailer" is a purely online phenomenon as far as I've seen, so that wouldn't affect theater owners and audiences at all.


If theater owners really want to cut down on audience complaints they should cut out the commercials they run for products and behind the scenes featurettes about television shows. Those things are interminable and run before every film. Most people resent sitting through 3D soda and snack ads, or having to watch cheesy promos for TV shows they're never going to see. These are the sort of ads that make going to the theater feel more like watching television at home than a special event. In local theaters I've seen ads for real estate companies, restaurants and dental practices, too. Is any of that really necessary?

Sadly yes it is. Theaters make most of their profits from concessions and ad space. Tickets yield very little profits for a theater in the first month. In the first week of a film's release up to 90% of all ticket profits go back to the studio. Its not until the second month that the theater starts getting a decent percentage of ticket sales, but by then ticket sales on that movie are to a point where the percentage may have went up but the profit hasnt. Once a theater puts out money for upkeep stock and staff they arent making much bank.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

The "trailer for a trailer" is a purely online phenomenon

I thought that was a ET phenomenon?

 

[Marvolo]

I thought that was a ET phenomenon?

Outdone only by the patented ET voiceover!

 

[AndrewGilkison]

How much leverage do the theaters really have to force the studios to adopt these policies?

 

[Tacit Ronin]

How much leverage do the theaters really have to force the studios to adopt these policies?

Like a featherweight on Brock Lesnar.