One of the local radio stations used to have a looping movie 'reviews' spot before the lights went down. It alternated between quick synopses of the movies and reasonably up to date chart music, while a slideshow played on the screen with the local ads and trivia. While they never actually offered any opinions on the movies for obvious reasons, it used to be pretty entertaining listening to Howard fluff his lines, which he did constantly despite the fact that it was pre-recorded. Sadly they no longer do this.
We then have to sit through about 15-20 minutes of commercials - the same ones we see on the telly; mostly for cars and bottled beer/alcopops - then three or four trailers before the movie starts.
Oh... as a special bonus, we're treated to the Pearl and Dean fanfare before and after the commercial section. You know, the really cheesey one that goes 'Da da da da da da da da da da dadada da da da da da da dada DAH!'
It sucks, but if it keeps the price of the tickets down, I'll live with it. That said, we pay around £7 for a ticket, which probably converts to roughly $10-12, with no cheap matinee or late night options.
Certainly in the UK, part of the problem is the lack of competition. We have very few small chains or independent cinemas left as they can't compete with the multiplexes. When there's no serious competition, the multiplexes can pretty much dictate what we watch. It's not like we can go to a different cinema that shows less commercials.
