Foilball.com » alice in wonderland

DVD releases spark debate

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:00:13 +0000

The associated Press

Published: March 21, 2010

LAS VEGAS – Disney’s plan to quickly release the blockbuster “Alice in Wonderland” on DVD is sparking new heat in a debate between Hollywood studios and movie theaters over how quickly films move from the big screen to people’s living rooms.

Moviegoers will have the option of watching “Alice” at home in about three months, worrying some theater owners who fear that narrowing the gap between theatrical runs and DVD debuts will undermine ticket sales as some fans skip the cinema and wait for the DVD.

“A robust, exclusive theatrical window remains vital for the health of cinemas and the movie industry as a whole,” John Fithian, president of the National Association of Theatre Owners, told members in a speech Tuesday at their annual ShoWest convention.

Studios like short windows between theatrical and DVD releases because it speeds up their cash flow and allows them to pull in DVD business while films are fresh in audiences’ minds.

The issue was a key topic last week at ShoWest, where studios trot out stars, films and footage to promote upcoming releases.

The time window between theatrical and home-video releases gradually shrank as studios cashed in on booming DVD sales starting in the late 1990s. the average gap between big-screen and DVD releases has held steady at about four months in recent years.

Now, cinema operators worry other studios might follow Disney’s lead, though the head of Sony Pictures assured theater owners that Hollywood is not aiming to squeeze them out in favor of DVD revenue.

“Showing films in theaters is what makes a movie a movie. It’s what makes stars stars. It’s what makes films famous. It’s what makes the public perk up and pay attention,” said Michael Lynton, Sony chairman and chief executive officer, in the ShoWest keynote address Monday.

Theater owners and studio executives say they are open to flexibility on DVD release patterns for some movies if it benefits both sides. Cinemas always beg Hollywood to release big movies in typically slow months at theaters rather than bunching up top hits during the busy seasons.

“You always have the issue of lots of movies coming in the summer, lots of movies coming in the holiday period, and so our members have been talking to distributors about getting movies into late winter, such as ‘Alice,’ trying to get movies into September. Places where we typically don’t have great movies,” Fithian told reporters Tuesday.

But putting a potential blockbuster in theaters in September might mean shortening the time until the DVD release to three months or less so the film can be in stores for Christmas, which Fithian said theater owners are open to discussing.

The huge business Tim Burton and Johnny Depp’s “Alice in Wonderland” did over normally slow March weekends might ease theater owners’ worries. “Alice in Wonderland” shot past $200 million domestically and $400 million worldwide after just two weekends.

Studios need to experiment with release patterns for new technology without undermining big-screen business, Sony chief Lynton said.

“We do not want to open a new window in a way that closes yours,” Lynton told theater owners.

DVD releases spark debate

Related Websites

Alice in Wonderland

Fri, 12 Mar 2010 08:00:14 +0000

Director: Tim Burton

Stars: Mia Wasikowska, Johnny Depp

Release: 03/5/10

Watch Movie Trailer

Buy Tickets

More Alice in Wonderland Movie Info

Alice in Wonderland

Related Websites

U.K. movie chain boycotts ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in DVD dispute

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 23:00:42 +0000

Odeon objects to Walt Disney Pictures’ decision to leave only 12 weeks between the film’s theatrical and DVD releases in those countries, rather than the usual 17 weeks.

Odeon said it had invested “considerable sums of money” in digital projection equipment to show 3-D films, and a shorter window to screen films would undermine its investment.

The company said it feared Disney’s proposals would “inevitably set a new benchmark” and a 12-week gap would become common.

Disney said it wants the shorter window in part to fight piracy, but does not plan to introduce it for every film.

“We have to approach this with some sort of flexibility,” a spokesman said on condition of anonymity in keeping with British corporate policy. “In a digital world, it is increasingly hard to say 17-week windows work in every case in every market in what is a very delicate commercial ecosystem.”

Odeon is one of Europe’s largest cinema chains, with 110 Odeon and UCI-branded theaters in Britain. Its screens in Germany, Austria, Spain and Portugal will show Alice in Wonderland because there is a longer gap between theatrical and DVD release.

Other cinema chains in Britain have expressed disquiet about Disney’s move, but so far none has said it will not show the movie.

The Vue chain said Tuesday it would show the movie in its 69 cinemas in Britain and Ireland. The Cineworld chain said last week it had reached a “satisfactory compromise” with Disney and would show Alice in Wonderland on more than 150 screens in Britain.

Burton’s 3-D movie stars Johnny Depp, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter. It has its world premiere in London on Thursday and opens in Britain and the United States on March 5.

U.K. movie chain boycotts ‘Alice in Wonderland’ in DVD dispute