>>Works for me.
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>Last time in the US when it worked for me was when I pulled a dirty trick. I asked the girl who sold the tickets, "when does the movie really begin?". She told me "15 minutes later than it says".
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>So I waited outside, just having fun with my daughters. We went in with just enough time to find seats while the last ad was booming from the screen. No popcorn, no zuckerwasser, just the movie. Unfortunately, it was the disneyfied "Hitchhiker guide", which had most of the fun chopped out. The redeeming moment is the one gag that was a deep in-joke, for aficionados who would notice. We did, and laughed out loud. Nobody else did, and I've seen many faces turning in our direction. That was the second redeeming moment.
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>Perhaps I may find that movie again and watch it, just to see if I'd get that same gag again.

All true about movie theaters in the U.S., although I don't think it rises to the level of national disorder. I routinely show up at movies 10 minutes after the posted time. Works for me. Now if there were just movies worth going to that aren't released in awards season I would be fully content.