Tom Rothman, Chairman of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group, has a notoriously big mouth when it comes to riling up theater owners at CinemaCon. The outspoken executive is a passionate defender of the movie-going experience, unafraid to call out its many percieved enemies. You may recall one of his more notorious retorts from 2017, “Netflix, my ass.” At this year’s CinemaCon, Rothman turned his attention toward theater operators, slamming them for long pre shows and expensive ticket pricing.
“What I’m about to say, I say as a lifelong defender of movie theaters. But I urge you all now to make some hard choices for the long term rather than the short-term health of your business,” said Rothman. “Now is your own Olympic moment with three immediate goals.”
Rothman began by urging the enforcement of longer theatrical windows. Once the clapping died down for that one, he addressed a far bigger annoyance: lengthy ad breaks and pre-shows. As I’m sure anyone who frequents the theater knows, preshows last close to thirty minutes nowadays. That’s as a result of sandwiching ads into the previews. Trailers are a vital part of the movie-going experience, and even I can agree that the amount of ads has gotten a little out of hand.
“Get off the ad crack,” Rothman put bluntly. “Infrequent moviegoers come at the showtime and hate being forced to watch endless commercials, which they don’t have to do at home where the movies are free.”
His final concern is rising ticket prices. “Affordability is by far the number one economic issue along the majority of Americans. Going to the movies must be more affordable again. I know business has been tough. I’m not heckling; I’m rooting for you because many of you have made wonderful investments in upgrading your theaters.”
According to Rothman, this couldn’t be a more perfect time to strengthen the movie-going experience. The 2026 box office is looking to be among the best in years. With that, Rothman stepped down from his proverbial soapbox.