You asked which, if any, countries require movie theaters to tell moviegoers when a film will actually begin. You specifically mentioned France, England and Australia.

We were unable to find out in the time available if any country requires movie theaters to tell moviegoers the actual starting time of a film. However, some movie theaters in Paris list both the starting time of the entire program and of the feature film. On-line movie listings in the French newspaper Le Monde (attached) list the program times, and, in some cases, note that the film actually starts some time afterwards.

According to Elaine Pearce, of the United Kingdom’s Cinema Exhibitors Association, which represents most theater owners in that country, the UK does not require theater owners to advertise the starting time of the feature film. She estimated, however, that about 10% of movie theaters in that country voluntarily list the starting times of both the commercials and the feature film.

We were unable to find separate listings for commercials and feature films in an on-line search of newspapers and movie theater sites from Canada, Ireland, Italy, Spain, South Africa, or Australia. We have requested information from Australia, France, Germany, Italy, and Finland but have not yet received a response.

PF: ro