New Delhi: In what constitutes a landmark decision with precedent for the entertainment industry, a consumer court in India has ruled that ‘time is money’ and has ordered two of the country’s leading cinema chains, PVR and INOX, to pay a moviegoer for advertisements displayed in excess before the film. The decision came in a case filed by a young man, Abhishek MR, who had complained against cinema chains for causing him mental agony for screening advertisements for a long time, putting him under mental stress, and wasting his time with such a screening.
According to the case, in 2023, Abhishek booked three tickets for the 4:05 p.m. show of the film Sam Bahadur at PVR with an e-ticket. The ticket stated that the movie would finish by 6:30 p.m. so that he could go back to work. The film began at 4:30 p.m., thirty minutes of trailers/ads later, and this threw off his plan.
The plaintiff stated that he incurred great inconvenience due to the delay and had to do very important work that day. He said, “There was a misrepresentation of the timing on the ticket, and the film started and finished at totally different times.” In an order ruling in his favour, the court said the advertisements played before the film were commercial rather than vital public service announcements.
PVR had defended the practice earlier, saying it was intended to help latecomers. The court rejected that argument, stating that viewers who arrive on time should not be made to sit through interminable ads.
Delivering the judgment, the court ordered PVR and INOX to pay Abhishek Rs 50,000 for causing him harassment, Rs 5,000 for mental agony, and Rs 10,000 for the cost of the litigation. The court also directed both cinema chains to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh each. It also said advertisements before films must be capped to no more than 10 minutes, bolstering citizen experiences in theatres.
This decision brewed polarizing debates among the largest cinema-goers, who applauded the honourable court for valuing their time. A user on social media remarked, “Well, it’s about time someone spoke out against this.” Some poorly argued about how it can affect cinema earnings, however.
While that ad-revenue trickle may have frozen for now, the true significance of this ruling may take some time to play out across Hollywood — though one thing is sure: The days of unending ad breaks before films may soon be drawing to a close.
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