AMC Theatres just added more fuel to an old fire…literally 25 to 30 minutes of it. As box office rebounds and audiences return to theaters, studios are sounding the alarm: pre-show ad bloat is pushing audiences to skip trailers altogether. That’s a problem for the “premium experience,” but also for one of Hollywood’s most time-tested marketing tools: trailers.
While pre-show reels balloon with national ads, branded trivia games, and even Coca-Cola spots, studios are quietly tracking when seats fill and how many eyeballs actually catch their marketing investments. And the findings are grim: one recent case showed only 20% of the audience in seats when trailers began.
It’s a tough position for debt-heavy theaters like AMC, which defend the added ad revenue as a lifeline. But for studios pouring millions into trailer campaigns and wondering why their marketing doesn’t convert? This may be the most avoidable problem in the business. Some execs want to bring back stricter terms, like old-school Disney, which once banned all ads before its films. Others suggest smarter showtime policies or even revisiting the role of reserved seating in fostering late arrivals.
The bigger question looms: in a world where in-theater trailers still convert better than most other marketing channels, how long can Hollywood afford to let this tension drag on?
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