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A big legal lesson has come to light for multiplexes which show long commercial advertisements and not start the movie on time after charging huge amount from the audience in theatres. Hyderabad’s District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, in a landmark decision, has imposed a stiff fine of ₹75,000 on the cinema hall management. The Commission has taken this action in the matter of airing commercial advertisements and promotional videos continuously for 22 minutes even after the scheduled start time of the film. The consumer court has directly termed it as ‘deficiency in service’ and ‘unfair trade practice’.
This decision has become a big example for millions of cinema lovers across the country, who are forced to endure long and boring advertisements in theaters despite paying for the tickets. The Consumer Commission made it clear in its decision that the audience’s time is precious and no consumer’s time can be misused in this way for commercial profits.
If we go into the background of the matter, this entire controversy is of 20th June 2025. A 33-year-old viewer from Hyderabad, along with his friend, had booked two tickets for the late-night show at 10:35 pm to watch the much-awaited film ‘Kubera’ starring actors Dhanush and Nagarjuna. Respecting the scheduled time, both the spectators sat on their seats inside the theater at 10:30 pm. But despite the stipulated time i.e. 10:35 having passed, the main screening of the film did not start.
Commercial products, branded advertisements and trailers continued to run one after the other on the screen. The screening of the film could start at 10:52 pm. Due to this unwanted delay of 22 minutes, the entire show ended quite late. The complainant said that when they came out after the movie was over, the entire city was asleep and they could reach their home about an hour late than the scheduled time i.e. at 3:00 in the morning. Hurt by this huge inconvenience, mental distress and wastage of time late at night, instead of keeping quiet, he took the bold step of filing a legal petition directly in the District Consumer Commission.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, after hearing the detailed arguments of both the parties, gave its final decision on this important matter on 11 September 2026. The Commission considered the complainant’s stand completely correct and logical. The consumer court in its order underlined that the maximum limit of screening of films approved under government or statutory rules related to public interest and public awareness (such as anti-smoking or national messages) can be allowed only up to 2 minutes.
The Commission made a strong comment, saying that once the viewer has made full payment for the ticket, the cinema hall should start the main film at the scheduled time. Forcing the viewers to watch commercial advertisements continuously for 17 to 22 minutes even after the time mentioned in the ticket is completely unfair trade practice. The theater management had defended itself by arguing that showing advertisements and trailers is part of the routine business operation and public awareness of the cinema industry. However, the Commission completely rejected this argument of the multiplex and said that the cost of commercial profits cannot be recovered from the time and convenience of the audience.
The Consumer Commission has fixed a total financial liability of ₹75,000 on the multiplex management. The court issued an order dividing this amount into three different items:
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Compensation to complainant: The viewer was directed to pay ₹20,000 as compensation for the mental torture, inconvenience and loss of time suffered late at night.
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Cost of litigation: An amount of ₹5,000 will be given to the complainant to compensate for the expenses incurred in fighting the legal battle and the court process.
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Consumer Welfare Fund: To prevent such arbitrariness in future and to send a strong message, the theaters were ordered to deposit a penal amount of ₹ 50,000 directly into the ‘District Consumer Welfare Fund’.
The Commission issued a stern warning that if theaters did not stop playing with the audience’s time, more stringent punitive measures would be taken in future.
This decision of Hyderabad Consumer Commission can bring a big change for the operation of multiplex chains and single screen theaters across the country. In most multiplexes there is no clarity regarding the start time of the film and the audience is shown advertisements continuously for 15 to 25 minutes. After this decision, now theaters will either have to specify the timing of advertisements separately on the ticket or start telecasting the main film immediately after the show time.
Legal experts believe that this decision is a great example of the strengthening of buyer’s rights under the Consumer Protection Act 2019. No service provider company can make consumers a captive audience citing its commercial compulsions. This decision inspires every conscious citizen to raise voice for their rights.