A Bengaluru consumer court ruled in favour of a moviegoer who sued PVR Cinemas and INOX (which merged with PVR recently) for wasting his time with excessive advertisements before a film. The court directed the multiplex firm to ensure movie tickets specify the actual start time of the film, excluding ad durations.
The complainant, Abhishek MR, attended a screening of Sam Bahadur on December 26, 2023, at a PVR cinema. Despite the movie’s scheduled start time of 4.05 pm, it began only at 4.30 pm after 25 minutes of advertisements. This disrupted his schedule, as he had planned to return to work immediately after the film, the law news website reported. Frustrated, he filed a case against PVR, INOX, and BookMyShow, Bar and Bench reported.
However, the court ruled that BookMyShow was not liable, as it did not control film schedules.
The court, in its ruling, criticised the cinema chains’ practice, and stated: “In the new era, time is considered as money, each one’s time is very precious … 25-30 minutes is a considerable amount of time to sit idle in the theatre and watch unnecessary ads. People with tight schedules do not have time to waste.”
It deemed the practice an unfair trade practice and ordered PVR and INOX to stop running ads beyond the scheduled start time.
PVR and INOX defended their actions, arguing that pre-film advertisements accommodate late arrivals and that cinemas are required to screen public service announcements (PSAs). While the court acknowledged this requirement, it pointed out that government guidelines cap PSAs at 10 minutes. It also noted that 95 per cent of the advertisements shown before the screening of Sam Bahadur were commercial rather than government PSAs.
As a penalty, the court ordered PVR and INOX to pay Rs 20,000 to Abhishek for mental distress and Rs 8,000 for legal expenses. Additionally, they were fined Rs 1 lakh for engaging in unfair trade practices, reported Bar and Bench.
