Some movie theater representatives in Connecticut spoke out against a proposed bill during a General Law Committee hearing Wednesday. The bill, proposed by Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney (D-New Haven), would require the theaters to tell customers what time a movie will actually start after ads and trailers.
Theater operators said they’re worried for their businesses if the bill gets passed.
“When a blockbuster film is coming out, our theaters will put on their ticketing platforms 30 days in advance, along with the rest of the nation's ticket sales, but in Connecticut, you wouldn't be able to do that because we don't know 30 days in advance how long our trailers would be. We’d be violating the law right away if we were to put something on sale,” said Doug Murdoch, Executive Director for the Connecticut Association of Theater Owners.
Murdoch said the bill would be costly, confusing, and impractical. He said movie goers already know their movie isn’t going to start exactly at the posted time, and they’re used to that.
Truman Thompson, Regional Manager for Cinepolis movie theaters operating out of West Hartford, said the bill would hurt the business model of dine-in movie theaters.
State Representative Roland Lemar (D-New Haven) said the wait times before movies are inconvenient for customers.
“You're relying on a revenue stream that relies on me sitting there for 25 minutes longer than I thought I had to, and there's gotta be some level of understanding why that might be frustrating to a whole constituency,” said Lemar.
Murdoch said the theaters do not get paid by studios to play trailers.
But some members of the committee disagree. Senator John Kissel (R-Enfield) said there are more important issues.
“What is the government doing getting its nose in this business? You guys are struggling. We're gonna wake up and have even less theaters than we have now. There's a lot of serious issues coming down the road, this ain’t one of them,” said Kissel.
Kissel said the trailers are part of the movie theater experience and add a convenient buffer for customers who may be running late or want to take their time. He also said he’s upset that many towns have been left with no movie theaters.
Murdoch said nearly a third of the movie theaters in the state have closed since 2020, with the number of theaters dropping from 57 to 38.
Under the proposed bill, there would be a $1,000 fine for theater’s who don’t comply. Lemar said the fine is that high because they don’t want theaters to have to pay; they want theaters to comply with the law.
“If it was a five dollar fine, you guys would just never comply with it,” said Lemar.
The bill has gained national media attention since it was proposed last month.
