Tom Rothman calls on cinemas to screen films, not trailers and ads
17 April 2026
That’s the upshot of what Rothman, CEO of Sony’s Motion Picture Group, said at CinemaCon, held in Las Vegas, in the United States, this week, says Brent Lang, writing for Variety:
At CinemaCon, the annual exhibition industry conference unfolding this week in Las Vegas, Rothman bluntly told the cinema operators in the audience at Caesars Palace that they needed to cut back on the trailers and commercials that can last for roughly 30 minutes before the opening credits even roll.
It’s been sometime since I saw a movie in an actual cinema (an Australian cinema). We just about always stream movies at home now. I don’t know then if local film-goers are subjected to thirty-minutes of ads and trailers, prior to a screening — euphemistically called pre-feature entertainment — as appears to be the case in parts of the United States.
If memory serves, when I first started going to cinemas to see films — streaming was not a thing then — a few trailers and a small selection of ads were all we saw.
The whole thing lasted no more than ten minutes. If that. I don’t know who paid attention to the ads — not me — but I’d usually look at the trailers. Back then, trailer screenings were just about the only way to learn about upcoming film releases.
Whatever, the trailer/ad segment was usually considered to be a buffer, affording late arrivals a few minutes grace before the main feature commenced. Pre-feature entertainment was also an opportunity to buy snacks and drinks before the screening.
One Sydney cinema I once went to regularly, didn’t hold back in this regard. “You still have time to visit the candy-bar before the film starts”, the audience would be informed, part way through the trailer/ad segment. A shrewd business model if ever there was one. Make advertisers pay to promote their goods and services, while oblivious patrons are downstairs buying popcorn.
I doubt the practice would surprise Rothman. He also noted reserved seating meant cinema-goers were not entering the auditorium until just before the feature screening starts, sparing themselves the prolonged pre-feature entertainment anyway.
I might, by the way, sound critical of watching movies at a cinema. While I’m definitely an adherent of home streaming, I used to — ten to fifteen years ago — almost live at the cinema. Something the then staff of a place I was a regular at, could attest to. Back then I also used to write a lot about film here. Not so much now though. Plus, there is no nearby cinema where we are now based.
Streaming then — minus unwanted ads and trailers — it is.
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