To show the film to best advantage, special screenings may take place in plush, low seat-count theaters with very high quality (sometimes especially certified) projection and sound equipment, and can be accompanied by food and drink and spoken remarks by producers, writers, or actors.
Fully equipped permanent focus-group screening rooms simplify the process, but restrict the location of tests.
[6] The film media will thus append the statement 'not screened for critics' in their preview/review columns or segments to give the public notice as such.
Private preview screenings are commonly provided for investors, marketing and distribution representatives, and VIP media figures.
A sneak preview is an unannounced film screening before formal release, generally with the usual charge for admission.
A sneak preview of a film with bad (or no) prior publicity may be quite poorly received; a by-invitation sneak preview of Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now was dismissed by attendees as "boring,"[11] though it went on to win the Cannes Palme d'Or and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Picture.