The movie theater business has been drastically altered in recent years. With the competition of streaming, the difficult years of the pandemic, and other rising forms of digital entertainment, it has been forced to evolve in surprising ways. Now a new bill could once again drastically alter the movie theater business if passed.
As noted via Yahoo, the new bill was introduced on January 21, 2025 by Connecticut State Senator Martin Looney. Looney’s bill proposes that movie theaters should begin listing two sets of times for showings. The first set of times would be for the movie’s pre-show, including advertisements, while the second time with be the actual start of the feature film.
Ideally, this new bill would allow moviegoers to skip pre-show content like advertisements and trailers so that they can enter the screening right when the movie starts. Some major chains already indicate such details regarding pre-show content and how long it will be until a film will actually play, but this would make it an actual mandate for all theaters.
If so, one can imagine how this would vastly alter the moviegoing experience. Additionally, it could harm the business model for movie theaters regarding the benefit of selling ad space prior to screenings. This ad space is a major example of revenue for the theater model, and without the guarantee of more viewers for ads, it could severely harm the industry.
While it might be more convenient for some patrons to know when ads are going to start, there are certainly going to be consequences as well. As such, we’ll have to see how this situation continues to play out. Especially at a time when movie theaters are still struggling to get back on their feet between streaming and the pandemic era.
In the meantime, this movie theater bill is only being proposed in Connecticut. If approved, however, and considered a success – then it could begin to travel to other states as well. The nation’s overall grasp on the movie theater business could change forever. As such, we’ll have to see what might happen in the coming years. Stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional updates as we have them.