AMC now warns moviegoers to expect ’25-30 minutes’ of ads

AMC Theatres is making it easier for moviegoers to know the actual start time of their film screening and avoid sitting through lengthy ads. A new notice has started appearing when people purchase tickets via the AMC website, warning that “movies start 25-30 minutes after showtime.”

This already mirrors the estimated runtime of AMC’s pre-show content, which includes ads and trailers, but now customers will be better informed if they want to arrive a little later without missing the start of their movie. This small change also tracks with a report made by The Hollywood Reporter last week that said AMC will soon start “addressing the preshow on its ticketing platforms.”

Starting today, AMC will also show more ads than before, meaning its preshow lineup may have to be reconfigured to avoid exceeding the 30-minute mark. The company made an agreement with the National CineMedia ad network that includes as much as five minutes of commercials shown “after a movie’s official start time,” according to The Hollywood Reporter, and an additional 30-to-60-second “Platinum Spot” that plays before the last one or two trailers.

AMC was the only major theater chain to reject the National CineMedia ad spot when it was pitched in 2019, telling Bloomberg at the time that it believed “US moviegoers would react quite negatively.” Now struggling financially amid an overall decline in movie theater attendance and box office grosses, AMC has reversed course, telling The Hollywood Reporter that its competitors “have fully participated for more than five years without any direct impact to their attendance.”