What should you do if you encounter a "thunder" movie in the cinema? In order not to waste their ticket money, many spectators could only stay on pins and needles in their seats until the show ended. Now, a theater in Hangzhou has given a new solution. A few days ago, Hangzhou Xitian City Times United Cinemas issued an announcement, saying that the cinema "made a bold decision."A partial refund service is available on a trial basis if the viewing experience is not good.
According to the announcement, from March 1 to April 30, 2026, the cinema will officially trial the "movie viewing experience guarantee service".
If the audience feels that the film does not meet their expectations within 20 minutes after the movie they purchased has started, they can go to the front desk of the cinema with their movie tickets for the day and get a refund of 40% of the actual amount paid.
Regarding why it only refunded 40%, the cinema explained that 60% of the movie box office must be handed over to the film studio and theaters, so a full refund cannot be achieved.
In addition, each movie ticket can only apply for a refund once, and it must be completed on site at the cinema. You will not be able to apply for it again after leaving the cinema.
From an industry level,This move is equivalent to providing the audience with a certain degree of "right to regret watching the movie" and making exploratory adjustments within the framework of the current box office accounting mechanism.
While this approach will improve the consumer experience, it will also force theaters to be more cautious in arranging and selecting films, which will help strengthen the market's feedback mechanism on film quality.
However, whether the relevant model can be implemented in the long term still requires a more sustainable path to be found between the protection of audience rights and the balance of industry revenue.