If you are also wondering regarding the number of advertisements displayed during a movie in cinemas.
This has come into focus as a Bengaluru consumer court ruled in favour of a moviegoer who sued PVR Cinemas and INOX (which merged with PVR recently) for wasting his time with excessive advertisements before a film.
How Did This Happen?
While giving judgement in this case, the court directed the multiplex firm to ensure movie tickets specify the actual start time of the film and it should exclude the advertisement durations.
This all started when the complainant, Abhishek MR, attended a screening of Sam Bahadur on December 26, 2023, at a PVR cinema.
He has observed that despite the movie’s scheduled start time of 4.05 pm, it began only at 4.30 pm, almost after 25 minutes of advertisements was shown.
It appeared to have disrupted his schedule as he had planned to return to work immediately after the film, as per the media report.
Under this frustration, he has filed a case against PVR, INOX, and BookMyShow, as per the Bar and Bench.
Further in its ruling, the court ruled the BookMyShow was not liable, as it did not control film schedules.
Time Is Money Indeed
“In the new era, time is considered as money, each one’s time is very precious … 25-30 minutes is a considerable amount of time to sit idle in the theatre and watch unnecessary ads. People with tight schedules do not have time to waste,” the added, in its ruling while criticizing the cinema chains’ practice.
The court deemed that the practice an unfair trade practice, further ordering the PVR and INOX to stop running ads beyond the scheduled start time.
In their defence, PVR and INOX argued that pre-film advertisements accommodate late arrivals and that cinemas are required to screen public service announcements (PSAs).
While acknowledging this requirement, the court pointed out that government guidelines cap PSAs at 10 minutes.
Further noting that 95 percent of the advertisements shown before the screening of Sam Bahadur were commercial rather than government PSAs.
Moving ahead, the court ruled that PVR and INOX to pay Rs 20,000 to Abhishek for mental distress and Rs 8,000 for legal expenses in penalty.
In addition to this, both of them were fined Rs 1 lakh for engaging in unfair trade practices as reported by the Bar and Bench.
