I’ve only seen this type warning once, with the infamousIrreversible- there was a placard at the ticket counter that basically said “this is a disgusting movie, consider yourself warned, no refunds will be given after ticket purchase”.
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I forgot to mention that I only lasted ten minutes into this movie before walking out.
I’ve done it twice.
Once when the film caught fire, & the second time during Disney’s Mighty Joe Young remake.
I don’t know what possessed me to see a Disney-made monster movie…
Honestly, a lot would depend on how much of the movie you’ve seen and how big of a jerk you are about asking for the refund and of course, how hot you are. (hey, working in a movie theatre kills your social life)
Kids getting sick or scared usually passes will do the trick. But parents frequently just leave without asking for anything in that case.
Mybe you just needed a little more patience. That’s one of my favorite movies and I play it every Christmas.
IAAL, and you’re right; if push came to shove and one sued to get their admission price back just because they didn’t like the movie, they wouldn’t stand a chance. This would never happen, of course, because even filing in small-claims court would cost considerably more than the amount in controversy. But let’s keep this hypothetical.
However, as you mentioned, I’d think the theater would be smart to issue a refund, assuming that they’re not too far into the picture. The goodwill thus generated would likely bring the customer back at least once and probably more.
I’ve asked for a refund twice, and gotten it once. I walked out of Van Helsing after about 20 minutes and politely asked if I could get my money back. When asked why, I said something like, “because I lost 10 IQ points just sitting through the opening credits.” The guy at the counter gave me the refund, and let me know 20 minutes was their usual cutoff time.
I also walked out of What the #$*! Do We (K)now!? and asked for a refund, but it had been about 40 minutes and they said it had been too long. (I would have left earlier, but there were several extremely large people sitting between me and the aisle and I didn’t want to disturb them. Eventually, my searing hatred for the movie outweighed my reluctance to inconvenience others.)
How about asking for a refund or voucher if an understudy performs a leading role?
I once had an odd argument with a server over this very issue. In college, a female friend and I used to frequent the same New Orleans-style restaurant at least once or twice a month. One evening I ordered alligator steak simply to see what it like, and found that I hated it, so I set it aside. Our waitress noticed this and offered to comp me something else; I didn’t think that was fair, as I had willingly taken the risk in ordering the dish. After a while my friend told me to stop being a moron, so I took the substitute dish and left a very large tip–I think about 50 percent.
As to the question in the OP, no, I don’t demand movie refunds. I have been known to walk out in disgust and go into another theatre, though.
Wow. It would never even occur to me that this would be accepted practice. If you don’t like the movie, you don’t like the movie. Tough shit. Last I checked, the theatre doesn’t guarantee you’ll like a movie you see. Most theaters seem to have sensible policies that do refund dissatisfied customers as a gesture of goodwill, but I don’t think people have any claim to a refund in those cases. If I spent $20 to go see a movie and realized after 15 minutes I didn’t like it, that’s my problem, not the theater’s. I should have researched it better.
For technical and problems of that nature, sure. For simply not liking a movie? Hell no.
Don’t forget to get a receipt for that transaction.
You might ask for a refund if what you got wasn’t what was described on the menu though.
If you’re talking about review quotes like “non-stop thrill ride”, the theatre doesn’t produce those, unlike menu descriptions which are provided by the restaurant.
My thoughts exactly. People should take responsibility for their own decisions. Bad movie or not, unless there was something wrong with the presentation or environment (things the theatre could have control over) I would definitely think less of someone who tried to pull this.
I watch dozens of movies a month, but I haven’t been inside a movie theatre for 20 years. Think I should ask for a refund on my DVD rental if I don’t like it?
I can’t say I’ve ever walked out of a movie less than 20 minutes into it, but I think if I did, I would be morally (if not legally) in the right for asking for a voucher for another movie. Of course, if I disliked it that much, I would probably just go find another movie to watch.
Personally, though, I don’t think I’d ever do it. I tend to take responsibility for my own viewing choices, and I’m also the type to give a movie a fair chance to get good.
Well, let’s make the hypothetical a little more specific. Let’s say I ran a video store and you were a frequent customer. You’ve rented five movies this month. You rent a sixth one and then you come in later with it and say, “Dude, I watched 20 minutes of this movie and I just couldn’t stand any more.” I think it would be reasonable to trade you another rental for it.
I go to my local Movie Gallery quite a bit (they’re cheaper and closer than Blockbuster). It’s probably just the store and not the chain, but they have a policy that if you don’t like the movie, even if you watched the whole thing, you get a free rental. I found this out when I returned the gawdawful P.O.S. entitled Room 6. I can only assume it got 40% on Rotten Tomatoes for the MST3K factor.
I was joking about how bad it was when the manager told me I get a free rental. I sure didn’t expect it, but was pleasantly surprised. I wasn’t even complaining, I was just telling MST3K style jokes about thing. I haven’t taken them up on their guarantee since, but just the simple fact that the policy is there keeps me coming back.
In short, it depends on the particular store or theater.
I think a child being unexpectedly frightened by a misleading movie is a legitimate reason to be upset, but some people have a sense of entitlement and get upset too easily, and we have an obligation to the wellness of the community to take corrective measures against such unchecked assholery. If a customer approaches an employee angrily because the movie didn’t live up to their lofty expectations, the customer should be escorted out of the building and banned from the theater. In fact, if I ever see that happen, I may pay for another ticket because I got to see two shows.
Well if you actually see the movie, then no, why should you get a refund just because you didn’t like it afterall? But I don’t think one can be said to have seen a movie they walk out of inside of 15-20 minutes.
I’ve walked out of 4 movies in theaters in my life. I don’t remember what happened in one of those instances, one I just walked across the hall and saw something different, in one I got a full refund and in one I got a coupon to come back and see another movie. I don’t expect it, but it does make sense to me, whereas you seem utterly shocked by the concept. The manager at the theater that was showing White Man’s Burden said more than half of every audience waked out on that one, and he felt so bad about bringing in such a piece of crap that he happily invited his patrons to come back and (hopefully) enjoy something else some other time. Just seems like good business practice to me.
Doesn’t matter. Do you get a refund if you walk out after an inning at a ball game? Do you get a refund if a boxing match lasts thirty seconds rather than 10 rounds? Do you get your concert tickets refunded if you leave midway through the opener? If you bought the ticket, once show time starts, in my opinion, you’re on the hook for it.
If the concept doesn’t apply in the above situation, why in the heck would I think it would apply in a movie situation?
Yes, it’s good business practice to allow somebody a refund within a reasonable period of time, because, in the long run, the theater has probably more to gain by being nice and getting your business back for another movie rather than have you walk away feeling cheated.
If I were a movie theater I would also have a policy like that. I still think that doesn’t make the customer correct.
After sitting through 3/4 of The English Patient*, the film broke. Everyone just sat there, stunned. We were finally getting to “it” and then… nothing.
The manager gave everyone free passes AND refunds.
- 3/4 through was like 3.5 hours, right?
