Be it Odeon in the UK or Pathé in North-Western Europe, according to BBC-news many cinema chains have decided to completely boycott the new 3D "Alice in Wonderland" film by Tim Burton. The reason being that Disney has announced a new program that will leave less time between the cinema release of a film and the DVD - BluRay release.
Cinemas are angry because they claim this will cost them serious box office benefits. Who will shell out for cinema tickets when the film will be released for home-viewing within three months? But Disney claims that a DVD - BluRay release during the soccer world-championship will cost them a lot of revenue, and that people will still want to see it first in cinemas anyway because of the 3D-factor.
Frankly I cannot recall another spat where temperatures were raised quite this high. Boycotting one of the biggest releases this year? Damn! Ah well, I can always watch "Avatar" again I suppose...
So in your opinion who is right here and who is as mad as a hatter? Are release dates still worth bickering about in the current moviegoing climate anyway?
Have Your Say!
No kidding on the AVATAR thing, I bet 20th Century Fox is not terribly upset that this is an issue. More screens for them to continue pulling in $$$ for Avatar.
Still, it is an interesting 'blind faith' in 3D technology that people will pay CAN$60 for a family of 4 (not including snacks) to go out an see a movie when they could rent it for $5.
I don't think too many of these post-AVATAR 3D extravaganzas are going to have the novelty/appeal to sustain filmgoing if they shrink the DVD window. But I'm far from an expert.
I think this is Disney flexing its muscles, as their titles tend to be bought and home-libraried more than most other studios product.
Frankly I also think "Avatar" is one of the reasons why cinemas feel they have some clout in this discussion. Cameron's juggernaut has longer legs than anticipated and even regained the top position in the UK last weekend. Many people are coming back for a second helping, and those huge 3D-Imax screens look mighty inviting to revisit Pandora with (expensive or not).
Because of it's rather long running time, "Avatar" is again more expensive to buy tickets for than regular-size pictures, so many venues will not be too terribly motivated to replace this cash-cow just yet...
I don't understand it really, do these films really play this long? I seriously doubt that this will be a huge hit, word on the street says it's pretty crappy but you never know.
I thought films were in and out of cinemas in a few weeks these days.
As a movie goer I feel seriously duped .....Pathe already does very crappy programming in Eindhoven where I live, e.g. Parnassus is not on there 90% are kids movies and they show no alternative movies or documentaries like they do in other cities.....but we were promised an Imax theatre that was to open with.... ALice in Wonderland 3D no such luck now .. maybe a good excuse for a trip to London and BFI :)
I think Disney's taking a gamble. They shot the film in 2-D, and the converted it in post to 3-D. It's not going to be on Avatar's level of 3-D by any stretch of the imagination. If anything, people will only be disappointed after seeing Avatar and then expecting all 3-D to be on par, which it won't be. If they think that's going to get people to see it in theatres only, I think they are in for a stormy ride.
Frankly I wish the release window was even smaller. Most movies here in the Midwest run 1-2 weeks. I tend to see 3-4 movies a year because there just isn't the kinds of movies showing I want to see anymore. I'm older so midnight movies aren't something I tend to go to anymore either.
Netflix and importers tend to get most of my movie money now. I can watch what I want when I want. I also don't watch TV when broadcast anymore either. I watch it on DVD. The world of movies has changed for me and I don't see myself going back to watching movies on opening weekend unless it is a genre flick that is more than paint by numbers cinema.
I think boycotting Disney is just an all around good idea.
They are one of major conglomerates that control the MPAA (there 6 in total), the organization that makes it hard for non-major studios and independents to get films shown in the States which also has influence on whether they get shown here in Canada. We are a Country that has banned films based on their title alone.