Movie Theaters Required to Announce Captioning and Audio Description Availability
Published Date: 11/18/2025
Notice
Summary
The Department of Justice wants movie theaters to clearly tell customers when closed captions and audio descriptions are available for digital movies. This update affects theaters nationwide and aims to make movies more accessible for people with hearing or vision challenges. They’re asking for public feedback by December 18, 2025, with no big costs expected for theaters.
Analyzed Economic Effects
2 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 1 costs, 0 mixed.
Theaters must post accessibility notices
Movie theaters that show digital movies must tell the public when closed captioning and audio description are available so people with hearing or vision disabilities can find accessible showings. The requirement applies to covered movie theaters nationwide and is tied to the ADA title III rule at 28 CFR 36.303(g)(8).
Estimated theater compliance time burden
The Department estimates that 1,813 firms owning one or more movie theaters will spend about 8.7 hours per year each (totaling about 15,713 hours annually) updating listings to include closed captioning and audio description information. DOJ estimates $0 in annual monetary costs to industry for these updates.
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