In a rare moment of clarity, AMC Theatres has done something moviegoers have been begging for since the dawn of multiplexes: tell people when the actual movie starts.
That’s right, no more guessing, no more showing up “on time” only to sit through trailers you’ve already seen online. AMC’s website now includes a note when purchasing tickets that bluntly tells you: “the movie starts 25 to 30 minutes after the listed showtime.”
The new notice appears when selecting showtimes, a small but significant reminder that if your ticket says 7:00 PM, you can probably stroll in at 7:25 and not miss a second of the actual movie. For many of us, this is not news—AMC has been stretching the pre-show window for years, tacking on trailer after trailer, ad after ad, until the practice became borderline farcical.
Earlier this year, a Connecticut lawmaker, with the very cinematic name Martin Looney, floated the idea of legally forcing theaters to disclose how long trailers run. AMC apparently took the hint, or maybe just got tired of the customer service complaints.
The update is subtle, but consistent, across cities and states, AMC lists a 25–30 minute buffer between the posted showtime and the actual start of the film. Sure, that’s still a full sitcom episode’s worth of ads, but at least now you know.
Will this lead to shorter previews? Doubtful. Studios pay a premium for that ad space, and theaters aren’t exactly in a position to turn down revenue, especially not in a post-COVID era where limited-edition popcorn buckets are treated like collectibles. But at least the honesty is refreshing. Baby steps.
It’s worth noting that independent theaters and chains like Alamo Drafthouse often cap their pre-show content at a more reasonable 10-15 minutes. Maybe that’s part of why they’re seeing growing loyalty among the more discerning crowd.