Canada's largest movie-theatre chain will no longer run ads supporting same-sex marriage after opposing groups boycotted its theatres.

Famous Players will no longer run any "issue-driven advertising" in its 79 theatres, The Globe and Mail reported, after staff received death threats and movements against same-sex unions boycotted theatres for running ads in support of same-sex marriage.

The two pre-film 15-second ads that were sponsored by Canadians for Equal Marriage will not be running as of this weekend, said Nuria Bronfman, the Toronto-based vice-president of corporate affairs for Famous Players.

"We were starting to get e-mails that were threatening to our staff," Bronfman told The Globe.

"The phone calls were starting to get abusive," explained Bronfman, "so we thought it's not fair for our staff to have to go through that sort of thing."

Famous Players Media President Salah Bachir paid for the ads as an individual, which cost close to $15,000.

One ad says: "'I do' means the same thing, whether you're straight or gay. Let your MP know you support our Charter of Rights and Freedoms."

The other says: "Marriage is a fundamental human right, whether you're straight or gay ... ."

But Calgary-based Canadian Family Action Coalition is threatening a continued boycott unless the chain runs a similar anti-same-sex marriage ad.

Brian Rushfeldt, the coalition's executive director, told The Globe that the chain only dropped the ads when they were set to run out anyway.

Bronfman says the chain is not succumbing to threats or boycotts from the opposing groups but that "we've definitely had some learnings from this situation and others," she said.

She noting that anti-smoking messages and ads for furriers have also incited complaints from patrons.

"We've definitely learned that people have definite opinions about their movie-going experience and what they want and don't want and we've heard it loud and clear."

From now on, advertising shown before screenings "will focus on consumer products and services and stay out of issue-driven advertising altogether," she said.

Some of the opposing groups believed the ads were free public service notices at first, and asked for free airtime to air their own positions, Bronfman said.

But when they found out the advertising was paid-for, "but no one pulled out a chequebook" she said.

Bachir told The Globe he would not have done any thing differently.

"That kind of reaction the ad got only serves to strengthen me further. In fact, I sent a cheque yesterday to Egale (a national organization supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-identified people)."