S. Worthen | Weblog

Since I was much younger, my family has usually played a game before movies start in the theater. We each bet on how many previews will be shown before the movie starts - everyone has to pick a different number. There're no prizes, just the thrill of being right. Thus, I've been in the habit of counting how many previews are shown before movies for years. It's an old habit, now extended to ads as well.

It has long been the case that far more ads are shown before movies in the UK than in the US or Canada. Yes, I know the North American crowd thinks they're getting a whole lot of ads these days, but it's not yet to the point it's long since been in the UK, where many people don't even bother entering the theater until a good fifteen minutes after scheduled starting time. Still, before tonight, I think the largest number of ads I counted before a film was 12, the largest number of previews 9 (Although I may be forgetting some higher numbers, the highest numbers have all been in that ballpark.)

Tonight, I finally saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. There were twenty ads before the modest six previews began.

In related trivia, what on earth is the role of a "Head of Crowd Tuition"?