Moviegoer Sued Theater Chain After Too Many Previews Caused Him to Miss Work Meeting

A man sued India's largest movie theater chain for playing too many ads and previews, causing him to miss prior commitments.

Abhishekh M.R. purchased tickets to watch the war drama "Sam Bahadur" at a PVR theater in December 2023. Scheduled to play from 4:05 to 6:30, nearly half an hour of advertisements delayed the film's run time.

In the court filing, obtained by NBC News, Abhishekh claims "trailers, advertisements and other fillers" caused him to miss "other arrangements and appointments" he had scheduled that evening. The loss "cannot be calculated in terms of money," Abhishekh told the court, asking for $570 in compensatory damages and $60 for mental anguish.

The court ruled in Abhishekh's favor, stating that the theater's practice of playing excessive ads was "unjust and unfair" to viewers. PVR was ordered to pay him $320 in damages and a regulatory fine of $1,150.

"Many times viewers will rush to the theater in a hurry," the court ruling stated, "Only on the reason that they are supposed to sit for watching movie at the time they mentioned in the ticket."

The ruling emphasized that movies must start at the scheduled time as printed on their ticket and that viewers should not be forced "to sit idle in the theatre and watch whatever the theatre telecasts."