No, stores will guarantee quality of an item, or will accept a return- most will post a sign to this effect, unlike theatres which make no such guarantees. Before a store sells an item, I’m failry certain someone with the company checks it out for quality, again unlike theatres. I’ve never seen any sort of guarantee for the quality of a movie, implied or otherwise. And keep in mind that even for completely stupid movies with no redeeming value, there are thousands of people who will see it and enjoy it- Deuce Bigalow did so well it spawned a sequel, which also did decent b.o.
Generally, no one checks out products at a store for quality. However, a returned defective item can be returned to the distributor and ultimately to the manufacturer for a refund, so a store has a good chance of getting its customer refund back. This is not the case for a “bad” movie.
There’s also the fact that stores purchase goods, thereby becoming the owner of them: therefore, when you buy something from Target you’re buying something from Target. Target assumes the liability if the product is defective, which is why they provide a refund, not the original manufacturer. (Of course, Target’s contracts with the manuf. would have a number of clauses whereupon the manuf. reimburses Target for defective goods, etc).
Theaters lease films from the studios with the expectation that the cumulative desire to see the movie sells seats. They don’t purchase films, therefore they don’t assume any liability regarding the film itself.
I’m still waiting for Treis to regale us with stories of negotiating monthly cable rates because s/he doesn’t like what’s being shown on MTV. 
No there isn’t.
If you go see Alvin & the Chipmunks and are shocked, *shocked *to discover that it’s not an Oscar-quality film, that’s your own fault for not knowing anything about the film beforehand.
Go read the Movies You Walked Out Of/Turned Off thread. Many people say they walked out of really great, high quality films. There never was and never will be a film that 100% of the audience thinks is great and worthy of their time & money. Just because you didn’t like it, doesn’t make it bad and doesn’t mean you get a refund.
You guys can argue all you want, but the fact of the matter is that theaters will give a refund if you walk out of the movie. If you want to piss away 10 bucks on the principle of the matter, fine. I’ll ask for, and get, the refund I deserve.
Besides, liking a film is so subjective. And anyway, if they started giving refunds for that, wouldn’t most people watch a movie and then lie, saying they hated it, just for the refund?
Maybe you will get a refund because the poor sap working there doesn’t want to have to deal with an unreasonable bully, but it doesn’t make you right in asking for it. It just makes you an unreasonable bully.
Who said anything about being a bully?
If you make them give you a refund simply because you didn’t like the movie, you’re a bully.
How silly. Politely asking for your money back doesn’t make you a bully.
You’ve just stated the exact problem with this type of consumer mentality where people stop asking whether something is “right” or “wrong” and are only concerned with how much they can get away with.
I haven’t ever asked for a refund on a movie for a non-technical problem, but I see no ethical problem. If you sell a product or service, some people won’t be satisfied, and refunding the occasional admission ticket isn’t unreasonable. Stores take responsibility for the products they sell even though they didn’t make them; why shouldn’t a movie theatre?
I think I’m in the right asking for my money back. Besides, it’s not like businesses are too concerned about right and wrong either. They want to get the most money they can from me, and I want to give them the least amount of money possible. There’s nothing wrong about politely, but firmly, seeking value for your money.
If all 300 people in an opening night showing of Freddy got Fingered asked for their money back, would the theatre give it? I don’t think so. Which means its not a policy to do so.
Here’s one Japanese theatres take on it.
Why doesn’t a cable company? Why doesn’t a concert venue? Why doesn’t a baseball stadium? Why doesn’t an art museum? Why don’t music stores? People hate prefectly good, if not great, movies. Why should the theater be responsible for someone’s tastes?
But you’ve gotten the value if you’ve seen the whole movie. If you walk out, that is one thing, but anyone can just say they didn’t like the movie and then get a freebie. I sat through the movie “Bug” thinking it would be an “Exorcist” esque horror fest, and instead was bored and repulsed. I still got the value–I saw a movie that was well lit, well projected, in a clean auditorium with a good audience. I just happened to dislike the movie. There are lots of people I’ve met who liked it. Just wasn’t my cup of tea. I’m free to hate the movie, but I got what I paid for. You pays your money, and you takes your chance.
Deserve?!? Wow. You are certainly seeing things in a very different light.
I don’t think anyone is talking about getting your money back after you’ve sat through the entire movie.
If you went to a live theater performance and the first act didn’t catch your fancy, would you ask for a refund? If you went to a museum and got bored after 15 minutes, would you ask for a refund? If you went to a ballgame and your team looked sluggish and it looked to be a bad game, would you ask for a refund? If you went to a concert and you didn’t like the opening act, would you ask for a refund? You don’t answer these hypotheticals even though you’ve been asked numerous times.
What is it about movie theaters that provokes such outrageous entitlement? They’re just about the cheapest entertainment around (aside from, of course, free performances and whatnot) and as has been pointed out, there are many many ways to be able to research a film before seeing it nowadays, from reading critics’ opinions at Rotten Tomatoes, reading moviegoers’ opinions at IMDB, watching trailers, clips, even to reading the damned screenplay. Most movie theaters even have info sheets on the film. There’s no excuse for not having SOME idea of what a movie is like before seeing it, unless the movie you went to see is sold out and you have to choose another on the fly. If that’s the case then I have a bit of sympathy, but not a whole lot. Not enough to give a pass for getting your money back.
And also, as has been pointed out, there’s no accounting for taste. If you go to see Norbit and hate it, it’s your own fault for going to see Norbit. If you go to see L.A. Confidential and hate it, that’s your own fault for not having the taste to recognize a brilliant film. The movie theater is not to blame, any more than the stadium is to blame for a poor ballgame, or a museum is for a bored mood.
This thread blows my mind.
Live performances are more of a crap shoot, but yeah I would. For example if the main act came on for only 5 minutes stoned out of their mind, I’d want my money back. Or if the actors flubbed lines enough to make me want to walk out after 10 minutes. You’re not being fair here either. We aren’t talking about movies that don’t catch my fancy. We are talking about movies that are so bad that I can’t stand them for more than 10 minutes.
Practically speaking I know that I’m not going to get my money back in these cases, so I probably wouldn’t bother trying. Concerts, sporting events, and live theaters are much more in demand. In addition, they only have one, maybe two, shows a day. That means that a ticket refunded is a sale that might have been made to someone else. These megaplex theaters show 50 movies a day, or sometimes more. They rarely sell out, so a ticket refunded to me isn’t a sale lost to someone else. As such, live entertainment businesses likely will refuse to give money back, whereas a megaplex theater will give it back.
What entitlement are you talking about? I’m not suing anyone or pitching any fits. It’s just the level of service I expect, and it’s the level of service most theaters will provide. I don’t see what the big deal is.