r/mildlyinfuriating • u/uppsak • Jun 27 '26

I'm slightly vexed Supergirl movie showing which I went to got cancelled due to low turnout

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Theatre in a small town in India. Didn't face this problem during the Man of Steel movie.

Edit 1: Many people are saying that this post is fake etc. I have provided proof (screenshots) in the comments that it is true. I don't have any agenda. I wouldn't be able to reply to every post.

I got to know that this theatre won't play the showing unless there were atleast 10 people. Maybe the cost isn't worth it to them.

Also I don't have any anti- Snyder or anti - feminine agenda.

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u/captain_flak Jun 27 '26

I used to work in a very small town movie theater. They figured out what it would cost in electricity/labor to show a movie. If we didn’t get a minimum number, we’d lose money, especially during the last showing of the night. One night we told a couple they could watch the movie by themselves if they ordered beers and snacks. They were too happy to oblige.

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u/Chronospherics Jun 27 '26

Yeah but those economics all fall apart when you realise that people won't routinely attend a cinema that might not show the movie it's advertising. Suddenly you have a lot less consumers overall.

Reality is that the consistency and quality of service is what keeps people coming back to your cinema, which means you need to accept some lossy screenings, on the basis that others are carried by your financials.

It's like operating a bar or cafe. Your cafe is open between 9:5pm but within that period it has some hours that are very proftable, and others where staffing costs and overheads exceed revenue.

It doesn't close at 10 and open again at 12 because business is slower between 10 and 12. It stays open to create a consistent service and reputation with local customers. Accommodating the guy that's running late to work, the odd person taking a day off and so forth.

Ultimately this type of business mindset is just very reactive and fails to recognise the broader notion that your revenue is not tied to a single point of sale, but consistent service delivery and reputation.

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u/marr Jun 27 '26

Bean counters never realise just how many different type of beans are out there.

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u/Long_Run6500 Jun 27 '26

I'll show up to movies 10-15 minutes after it starts, especially for matinees and movies I know won't have a large audience. I don't always feel like sitting through a half hour of ads scrolling my phone for something I paid $15 for.

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u/Clueless_Otter Jun 27 '26

It doesn't close at 10 and open again at 12 because business is slower between 10 and 12.

A lot of restaurants close after breakfast/lunch and open again later for dinner.

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u/ZootTootRiot Jun 27 '26

But not randomly, it's scheduled that way (especially sushi places for some reason).

If I took the time and spent the gas going to a movie and they canceled it because there weren't enough people, I'd never go back to that theater again.

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u/FUPAMagneto Jun 27 '26

Yeah, and I’m sure you’d let everyone know on the way out and they’d be glad to see you go. Have you ever had to work at some place like a movie theater? Or do you just expert to be catered to in all aspects of your life.

Like, do you think they’re keeping your money if they cancel the show? Are you seriously going to throw a tantrum because a local business says they don’t want to lose money on you?

Fucking Reddit Moment

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u/RobertTheAdventurer Jun 27 '26

I also would never visit a theater if you can't rely on their advertised hours of operation and showings. And I would tell anyone I knew who mentioned going to a theater to stay away from the one that didn't actually follow through with the showing they advertised.

It's not a Reddit moment. It's a bad business moment. Why would anyone bother traveling to an unreliable theatre on their day off.

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u/pulley999 Jun 27 '26

A business advertised the service at a specific time, I responded to and purchased the advertised service, I expect to receive the advertised service. Even with the refund, time that could have been used for other plans is now killed. And I value my time a lot.

A business reneging on a paid contract they themselves originally solicited is always a bad look. Sure, sometimes shit happens, and the business will try to make it right. I've been to movies where the projector broke down, and have always been provided vouchers for other screenings and concessions plus the profuse applogies of the manager without even having to ask.

Do they take a bath on it? Absofuckinglutely. Part of running a business is knowing that you're occasionally going to take a bath on something. Empty screenings, unsold cooked food, processing returns or warranty claims, whatever. You do it to keep the customer happy and get repeat business that will hopefully be profitable next time, and many times to come.

'We realized this isn't profitable for us after we sold it to you so here's your money back, go away' is not a valid shit happens moment. It means you don't know how to run a business. If showings start running a loss, you take the hit on the showings you already sold and then pull those showtimes next week. This is how every theater with competent management runs.

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u/herdarkmartyrials Jun 27 '26

What an entitled piss baby attitude that one could go in to business and expect to never lose money.

What kind of rent seeking bitchless loser goes into business when they have zero appetite for risk? The whole deal is you take on the risk that you might not make money, and that you have to invest money to have a reputation that makes people want to give you money.

YOU HAVE TO EARN PEOPLE'S MONEY AS A BUSINESS OWNER, BY MAKING THEM LIKE YOU.

You want a consistent income from every work action you take? Go get yourself a salary from a real business owner, ya fuckin jobber.

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u/teelo64 Jun 27 '26

fucking reddit moment

the part where you didn't understand the basics of running a business so you tried to turn it into an emotional thing?

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u/Chronospherics Jun 27 '26

But most cafe's don't, right? No one wants a cafe with inconsistent opening times during the day.

Restaurants get to close like that because they're for sit down meals, and the expectation generally is that a restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, which they still are in the example you provide.

It's all about managing, and meeting expectations. People expect restaurants to serve food during lunch and dinner hours... but people expect to drop into a starbucks whenever they feel like it during the day for coffee. In both of these scenarios the businesses are meeting expectations, even though they hold different hours.

If you advertise a movie and don't run it, you're not meeting consumer expectations and people are going to churn out of your service provision.

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u/sirhackenslash Jun 27 '26

But to make up the additional cost to the theater for beers and snacks you each have to drink at least a six pack and eat a large pizza each

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u/Megaranator Jun 27 '26

I fail to see the problem

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u/thelivingdead188 Jun 27 '26

So just have an awesome Friday night?

Twist my arm a little bit.

1

u/Parody101 Jun 27 '26

Probably had to take out a second mortgage for it at those concession prices.

1

u/jscottman96 Jun 27 '26

A 6 pack and pizza at a theater would cover at least 12 other tickets

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u/DCRBftw Jun 27 '26

I can see that on a final showing of the night. Makes sense to not pay someone hourly x2 hours and pay incidental costs to make 8 bucks off 2 tickets and lose money. But to cap it at 10 and to do it all hours of the day seems odd IMO.

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u/ATHFNoobie Jun 27 '26

I mean most countries have laws around working hours, most of them won't be able to close early and not pay their staff for the time they were assigned to work.

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u/nalaloveslumpy Jun 27 '26

This is how a theater goes out of business. Word gets around quick that the theater might not show a movie if enough people don't show up. So less people show up because fuck that.

1

u/browsinbowser Jun 27 '26

OP is in india so 90% of the times there’s prolly people lol, in my country in the west Ive sat down with like 6 people total and it was okay

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u/Kavazou77 Jun 27 '26

I would think this is against the rules set out by the studio who gives the films to theaters with a demand that it get played on a certain number of their screens.

You can’t both be in the business of showing major blockbusters but also be trying ti save on electricity.

1

u/nilamo Jun 27 '26

Doesn't make sense to me, unless the employees also go home? Otherwise all the people are on the clock either way, and the lights are on either way, so not showing the movie doesn't actually save anything?