# Why don't local movie listings indicate a Ending Date? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 12, 2015, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-local-movie-listings-indicate-a-ending-date/719833 "2015-05-12T03:09:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-local-movie-listings-indicate-a-ending-date/719833/21 "2015-08-09T17:22:08Z")
My dvd came in a couple weeks ago. Already watched it twice. There’s a lot of great music history. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-local-movie-listings-indicate-a-ending-date/719833/22 "2015-08-10T03:38:19Z")
I remember the same thing happening with the movie _Silent Movie_ with Mel Brooks. I saw it once, and wanted to see it again. A week or so later, it had just totally vanished into the void, never to be seen or heard of again. You’ll notice, if you look in the entertainment section of the Sunday paper in any large city, where all the live theater and ballet and concerts and night clubs are listed, they never show closing dates. Of course, plays often run for months or years. But even when the end is nigh, all they put in the ads is “CLOSING SOON!” so everyone who hasn’t seen it yet will madly dash to the theater district ASAP to see it. I think they do that on purpose. By NOT showing a closing date, anyone who might want to see the play must think “Gotta go see it soon, it may close at any time!” ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2015, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-local-movie-listings-indicate-a-ending-date/719833/23 "2015-08-10T03:40:30Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Now I have to settle for seeing it in my living room on dvd with a 14" Sony CRT from 1985. The speaker is about three inches. yeah, that’s going to be really thrilling entertainment. Better question - why on Earth is your presumably only or best television a 14" CRT from 1985 with only the built-in speaker? Ever think it might be time to upgrade? ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-local-movie-listings-indicate-a-ending-date/719833/24 "2015-08-11T04:25:28Z")
I was lucky enough to see a screening of “The Wrecking Crew” two years ago at an art theater in Tacoma. At that time, film producer Denny Tedesco was still raising money for a full on theatrical release by Kickstarter, selling sponsorships of the film, and special screenings like the one I attended. It was clear this was a labor of love for Tedesco, working without the backing of a movie studio. Considering how much it costs to clear the many songs on the movie (no covers at all), we’re so lucky it got released at all. Back to the original issue, I’ve asked a couple of times at the above-mentioned theater (the Grand Cinema) how and why the cinema stops running films at a certain time. Their explanation is exactly as above–Monday morning, the nonprofit running the theater checks the weekend grosses and decides which runs to the next week. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-dont-local-movie-listings-indicate-a-ending-date/719833.md?page=1)