Opinion: Enjoying Timothée Chalamet's Performance from the Coziness of Home

Sara Stewart, a film and culture writer residing in western Pennsylvania, shares her personal views in this piece. For more opinions, visit CNN.

I decided to take a break from work last week and catch a matinee at the local AMC theater. Naturally, it was a Timothée Chalamet movie - "Dune: Part Two". As a movie enthusiast, there are few things I enjoy more than watching a grand sci-fi fantasy epic on an IMAX screen.

Sara Stewart

Sara Stewart

As many of you may already know, the second part of Denis Villeneuve's epic movie is quite lengthy, running for two hours and 46 minutes. This seems to be the new normal for movies nowadays. However, I was prepared for the long runtime. I had already researched the best times to take a bathroom break. I also had my popcorn ready, even though I didn't have the special collector's edition popcorn bucket. I was excited to return to the world of Arrakis. (It's interesting to note that CNN and the distributor of "Dune: Part Two" are both under the same parent company, Warner Bros. Discovery.)

I found my seat and settled in, eagerly anticipating the magic that Nicole Kidman always talks about. However, 40 minutes past the scheduled start time, we were still stuck watching Kidman's PSA. Any hope of experiencing that magic had long vanished, thanks to the loud and distracting Maria Menounos "Noovie" pre-show that made it impossible to even chat with friends.

Our show started with 10 minutes of intense ads, followed by a long list of trailers that made the audience start laughing tiredly whenever a new one appeared. The room fell silent when we had to watch the "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire" trailer for the second time. They probably hoped it would be more appealing on the second viewing. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

GHOSTBUSTERS: FROZEN EMPIRE, from left: Celeste O'Connor, Finn Wolfhard, James Acaster, Logan Kim, Dan Aykroyd, 2024. ph: Jaap Buitendijk / © Columbia Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection

In this image from the movie "Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire," we see Celeste O'Connor, Finn Wolfhard, James Acaster, Logan Kim, and Dan Aykroyd in 2024. The photo is courtesy of Jaap Buitendijk and Columbia Pictures.

Related article

Opinion: The character I missed most while watching ‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’

The amount of previews shown before the movie was overwhelming. Nowadays, trailers give away most of the important scenes, unlike in the past when previews were more mysterious. We felt like we had already seen 10 short films before the actual movie even started. By that point, we were already tired, and the movie hadn't even begun yet.

It's pretty obvious that no one wants to sit through over half an hour of commercials before a three-hour movie that they paid a lot to watch. It doesn't make sense to expect people to pay even more money to be bombarded with ads and trailers that they can't even skip through like they could at home. It's almost like the big movie theaters are trying to make up for declining sales by forcing their audience to watch as many ads as possible.

I suggest that we all take our movie theater dollars elsewhere. You can pay to watch new releases at home for around $20, which is still cheaper than buying a movie ticket and concessions at the theater.

You might miss out on seeing Paul Atreides ride a sand worm on a huge screen, which is a cinematic moment. However, if AMC, other theater chains, and Kidman want to provide us with the "magic" of the big-screen experience, they should treat us as valued customers, not easy targets.

Anna Kooris/A24

Related article

Opinion: Kristen Stewart’s portrayal of queerness and family is a sharp reminder

I still believe in the magic of movies, despite what I just mentioned. If you have the chance to visit an Alamo Drafthouse, an independent movie theater, or a small indie chain like Brooklyn's Nitehawk, I encourage you to support them! The fun movie theater experience is still alive and well, even though it may seem like developers in suburban areas don't see it as a valuable investment.

In a recent article on CNET, Joan Solsman shared a quote from an expert that captures the traditional moviegoing experience we were familiar with before the pandemic. Bob Cooney, a location-based entertainment industry expert, described it as "sitting in a not-so-great seat, eating mediocre food, just to watch the movie you want." Theaters used to have exclusive showings that were highly valued, similar to airlines offering limited options for long-distance travel.

I don’t believe that the experience has really changed. Even if you go to a fancy IMAX or Dolby theater to watch a new movie, you still have to sit through a lot of advertising, including trailers.

Sign up for our weekly newsletter for free!

Sign up for CNN Opinion’s newsletter

Join us on Twitter and Facebook

It's great news that AMC experienced a 23% increase in revenue in 2023, reaching $4.81 billion from $3.91 billion the previous year. AMC CEO Adam Aron mentioned that the company surpassed Wall Street's expectations for both the fourth quarter and full year of 2023. His salary is nearly $24 million, which makes you wonder if he has ever endured sitting through Noovie.

I am interested to see what will be the breaking point for major cinema chains - will they risk a boycott from their audience, or will they ease up on the advertising bombardment? If AMC and other competitors understand where their profits come from, they won't keep us waiting for an hour before showing a Timothée movie.

Editor's P/S:

The article presents a compelling argument against the excessive advertising and trailers that have plagued movie theaters in recent years. The author's experience at an AMC theater, where she endured over 40 minutes of pre-show content before the actual movie began, highlights the frustration and disappointment felt by many moviegoers. The practice of bombarding audiences with ads and trailers has become a major turnoff, detracting from the cinematic experience and undermining the value of movie tickets.

The author suggests that movie theaters should focus on providing a premium experience that respects the time and money of their customers. Independent theaters and smaller chains, such as Alamo Drafthouse and Brooklyn's Nitehawk, offer a more enjoyable and immersive movie-going experience, with less advertising and a greater emphasis on the quality of the film. By supporting these alternative venues, moviegoers can send a message to major cinema chains that they will not tolerate excessive advertising and that they value the true magic of the cinematic experience. concludes by questioning whether major cinema chains will risk alienating their audience by continuing to bombard them with commercials, or if they will recognize that the true source of their profits lies in providing a premium experience for moviegoers.