Movie buffs already lamenting the length of time it takes to get to the start of a film might be disappointed to learn pre-cinema ads are getting longer.
Over the past 10 years, adverts for products and brands have taken up a larger proportion of pre-film reels in cinemas, according to experts.
“There has been a noticeable shift toward including more advertisements within the pre-film reel. While trailers remain central to the experience, ads have become a larger portion of the run time,” said Jon Evans, the chief customer officer at the advertising agency System1.
Ads for brands or products typically take up 10-15 minutes of the pre-show segment, with trailers occupying about five to 10 minutes, according to the company, which specialises in market research.
One filmgoer in India successfully sued a cinema chain for “wasting his time” and for the “mental agony” caused by lengthy pre-film advertisements.
There is no legal limit on the amount of adverts a cinema can show on screens in the UK.
While adverts and trailers in UK cinemas typically last about 20 to 30 minutes, the Prince Charles cinema in London bucks the trend by limiting the pre-film reel to 10-12 minutes.
The co-owner of the independent West End cinema, Gregory Lynn, said lengthy ads could not only hamper a viewer’s experience, but prevent people from going to the cinema in the evening because a film might end too late.
“I took [my] wife and we went to see Bridget Jones’s Diary last week. We sat there for 29 minutes before the film started, watching absolute nonsense,” Lynn said. “There must have been over 15 or 16 minutes of adverts, and then 13 minutes of trailers. Just too much, if you ask me, it’s just too much.”
The cinema advertising company Pearl & Dean said while it had not increased the lengths of advertising reels in cinemas, there had been a trend towards longer individual adverts on the big screen.
“Brands really want to take advantage of the undivided attention, the captive audience in a world where we’ve got constant bombardment and distraction.”
Digital Cinema Media, which represents 80% of the UK cinema market, said the pre-show adverts have remained much the same length for the past 10 years.
Karen Stacey, the CEO of Digital Cinema Media, said: “Across our estate, brand advertising in reel averages 11 minutes, a standard that’s remained unchanged for a decade, honouring long-term exhibitor agreements.
“Trailer times are set by individual cinemas alongside film studios, with no significant shifts in time-lengths.
“For 10 years, the pre-show experience has stayed consistent, giving cinemagoers a familiar, immersive lead-in to the film they’re about to see.”
According to DCM cinema, adverts are more likely to capture attention compared with other media formats such as YouTube and television. The study found a 30-second cinema advert is viewed for an average of 23.9 seconds, compared with 15.5 seconds for a TV advert of the same length.
Damian Spandley, the managing director of programming at Curzon cinemas, said: “We are conscious that customers are here to watch the film, but people like to see trailers for upcoming releases and the reel is part of the pre-film ritual. It’s a moment for people to settle into their seats, but we don’t want to take liberties and distract from the enjoyment of the film.”
