They did, but it was mostly to boost snack sales (the long-time moneymaker of theaters).

Let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lobby, let’s all go to the lobby to get ourselves a treat!

https://youtu.be/MC8_RiFAPl0

It was great. You could even get little pots of ice cream during them.

I died a little inside reading thos comment. I'm so old.

I remember when I was a wee lad, we went to see Titanic, and the movie was so long they showed it in two parts!

First time I saw it was during Titanic!

But then it kind of faded away

And non-musical live theatre too!

I went to an opera a couple of days ago and was very pleasantly surprised about the extended breaks. It actually makes it so much more of an event, not to mention that nobody was rushing to the bathroom because the breaks were like 30 minutes each (between each act they redo the decor on the set). It also gave you plenty of time to grab a bite to eat and a drink.

I have to assume it's studios -- movie theaters make most of their money selling concessions, and intermissions are great for that.

Not sure why the studio would care if people left after intermission, they've already paid full price.

Does it matter? They've already paid. I'd rather people who aren't into the movie left, than were disruptive.