Warner Bros. has decided to stop advance screenings in Canada due to the alleged high rate of piracy occurring in Canada. Warner Bros. fails to realize where the problem stems.

Since summer is the time for summer blockbuster movies, I decided to watch several of them. First, I went on opening day to see Spider-man 3. Upon my arrival at the theatre at 7 pm, I was informed that the earliest available showing was at around 11 pm. Having better things to do (at the time, the Raptors were still in the playoffs) than wait 4 hours to watch a 2.5 hour movie, I decided to go home.

Another time, I attempted to watch Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End on Saturday night during it's opening weekend. I arrived once again at the theatre and was told that the next available showing was around midnight. Not wanting to wait almost 5 hours for a 3 hour movie, I once again went home (unfortunately, I was not dressed in a manner suitable for any of the local clubs that day).

Studios continually complain about how movie attendance is down and how it hurts their profits. I find that difficult to believe since I was unable to gain admission into two of the biggest movies. I believe that these so-called losses to piracy are simply an excuse for movie executives to keep their jobs since they green lighted too much garbage and don't want to be fired for the losses the studio suffers when the $100 million dollar movie they approved bombs.

Frankly, I do not know why studios believe that I want to fork over $14 to wait 4 hours before I can see their movie. So called pirates offer viewers the opportunity to view movies for less money without the waiting time. I'm not justifying the infringement of intellectual property, nor am I suggesting that people do it, but studios fail to realize that people are working longer and unable to conform to their schedules.

Distributors also have territorial rights. Near my office, there is an AMC cinema and a Famous Players Colosseum. Famous Players continually receives the newest blockbusters like Spider-man 3, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End and more. The AMC, however, receives lesser revenue generating movies like Georgia Rule. As a result, the Famous Players location is busy while the AMC location is not busy enough. Accordingly, if studios allowed other theatres in close proximity to show the same movie, then there would be a greater opportunity for movie viewers to see the films they want without having to put up with long wait periods.

Some theatres are also not well maintained. I've been to theatres with sticky floors, bent screens and sound problems. A friend of mine told me that when he went to see Oceans Thirteen at the theatre, at the climax of the film, the projector shut down. It took the theatre 30 minutes to fix it, and the point it resumed at was after the climax that he had been waiting for. The theatre did give him two free passes to watch other movies, but many movies do not allow the use of passes, and since my friend cannot pause, rewind or replay parts of the movie in the theatre as one can with on-demand services or DVDs, he is forced to watch the whole movie again, and thus spend another 3 hours of his life on it, with no guarantee that the projector will break down again.

Studios should consider using technology, like encrypted streaming video, as a delivery method to allow viewers to watch on their schedule. Even a solution like buying a time-limited version through Xbox Live is a consideration. But forcing customers to wait hours just to see a movie is not an option.

Perhaps the next time studio executives find that they are losing money, they can point the blame to the person facing them in the mirror.