"How much is three to four minutes of your time worth--especially when you're waiting for the latest "Lord of the Rings" movie to start?
That question was posed in two lawsuits filed Tuesday against movie theaters that claim in their ads they'll show movies at a certain time, but, instead, show on-screen commercials at the advertised time, delaying the movie's start....
The lawsuits were filed in Cook County Circuit Court. One is against the Downers Grove company Classic Cinemas and the other against New York-based Loews Cineplex Entertainment, which also operates theaters here. The suits argue that the practice of showing the ads constitutes fraud, false advertising and breach of contract....
Both suits ask for damages of no more than $75 per person. More important, the attorneys who filed them say, is that their clients want the commercials dropped--or they want ads to state the time a movie actually begins, not just when the commercials begin to roll....
The suits don't take issue with movie previews. That's because moviegoers have come to expect those trailers 'as a time-honored part of the moviegoing experience,'' Weinberg said." [Chicago Sun-Times]
I like that the plaintiffs are asking for reasonable damages and actions, not something crazy like $10 million. I don't think they'll really win, but it's nice to see someone bringing this issue to the forefront and fighting back. Maybe we can at least stop further commercial intrusions (before the movie starts, anyway).
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