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Topic: UK cinemas threaten Alice in Wonderland boycott

John T. Hendrickson, Jr
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 889
From: Freehold, NJ, USA
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 02-13-2010 06:56 PM

Don't the studios always do what's best for the studios, and [sex]

the exhibitors?

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-14-2010 01:48 PM

I don't know why they don't just release a movie day and date on video and get it over with. You know that's what they're leading up to anyway.

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John Eickhof
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 588
From: Wendell, ID USA
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 02-14-2010 02:07 PM

Ya know Mike, that wouldn't be a bad idea! at least some of the smaller venues could purchase high end consumer video projectors then run the feature off DVD or BluRay and the hell with the distributors! It would be entertaining to see the FBI trying to cite and prosecute several thousand thatre owners!! Another waste of our tax dollars!!!

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Ian Parfrey
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1049
From: Imbil Australia 26 deg 27' 42.66" S 152 deg 42' 23.40" E
Registered: Feb 2009

posted 02-14-2010 02:44 PM

Got it in one.

The exhibition chain is a pain in the studios arses, and if they can short circuit any expensive profit drain on their bottom dollar, they will. This is the studios ultimate aim but it has one major flaw-: Theatrical exhibition is used by the movie goer as a bullshit detector. If a movie tanks at the cinema, it most likely will do so as well on dvd release.

The two methods of distribution are not mutually exclusive- they feed and support each other but with a major difference... theatrical exhibition does not need [dlp]

as a crutch and can operate independently, whereas [dlp]

gets the lions share of the benefit from a successful theatrical run.

And no matter how hard manufacturers and content providers try, the public LIKES getting out of the house and interacting socially, whether it be in a cinema, restaurant, sporting event or whatever. It would be folly in the extreme to steer the public towards staying at home to watch movies at the expense of theatrical boxoffice reciepts because as the public has shown time and again that it will go to where the entertainment and value for $ is.

One day the studios will see this but I'm not putting my home on it just yet.

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Martin McCaffery
Film God

Posts: 2481
From: Montgomery, AL
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-14-2010 06:29 PM

quote: Mike Blakesley
I don't know why they don't just release a movie day and date on video and get it over with. You know that's what they're leading up to anyway.

At least one distrib, IFC, releases theirs on Video On Demand simultaneously or before the theatrical release. Admittedly, small niche art films, but they may be the cutting edge.

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Joe Redifer
You need a beating today

Posts: 12859
From: Denver, Colorado
Registered: May 99

posted 02-14-2010 06:56 PM

How long has Hurt Locker been on video now? 3 weeks? A month? More? We just got it in again at my theater... for the 4th time. Maybe the 5th. We opened it on the break and it keeps coming back. You would think it would do poorly this time. Nope, doing better than ever. There are many $1 Redboxes within walking distance of us with this movie. Oh, and did I mention that we are a full price theater as well? I think the secret is to release it on video BEFORE releasing it in the theaters. Oh, and have a bit of Oscar buzz, but still...

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Galen Murphy-Fahlgren
Master Film Handler

Posts: 405
From: Canton, MI, USA
Registered: Oct 2007

posted 02-15-2010 01:08 AM

Joe, I reckon that may have something to do with the fact that it was released unusually early in the year for an Oscar nom, and really held up. I have only played it for one run thus far, but I am on my second run of An Education.

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Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003

posted 02-15-2010 10:18 AM

quote: Mike Blakesley
I don't know why they don't just release a movie day and date on video and get it over with. You know that's what they're leading up to anyway.

I think we'll see that happen within several years, but it's actually going more slowly than I would have expected when this topic has been raised here in the past.

The movie industry is a rare situation where a segment of the industry enjoys exclusive access to the product for a set period of time. Movie theaters benefit from all of the marketing efforts put into a theatrical release, and moviegoers have no legal choice of where to see a new movie except in a movie theater.

I think this is an incredible opportunity for theaters to deliver a great experience to their customers. This opportunity may not last forever, and any theater that does not seize that opportunity is squandering their future prospects.

quote: Ian Parfrey
And no matter how hard manufacturers and content providers try, the public LIKES getting out of the house and interacting socially, whether it be in a cinema, restaurant, sporting event or whatever. It would be folly in the extreme to steer the public towards staying at home to watch movies at the expense of theatrical boxoffice reciepts because as the public has shown time and again that it will go to where the entertainment and value for $ is.

It's all a matter of percentages. What percent of the potential audience fits into that category, vs. what percentage falls into a category of movie fan, but doesn't get out of the house for whatever reason? Marketing people are going to look at that segment and see if they can figure out how to tap into that audience in some way.

But, this case with Alice in Wonderland is just trying to take advantage of momentum and timing for the video release to maximize revenue. I think there are some movies that are impulse buys and where timing is everything. Wait too long, and no one is going to be interested in any great number. This is probably one of those types of movies.

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Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99

posted 02-15-2010 10:38 AM

Disney (and Warners) are now saying that they will just need to do this with a couple of movies a year so they can get the DVD into the market place during the hot DVD selling times of the year. So, a major blockbuster that comes out in September might have a late November video release to take advantage of the Christmas season.

They are saying they need to do this, as a "tradeoff" for releasing tentpole titles in the off months like September, October, March and April.

Sounds OK on the surface but I still don't think it will do anything to fix the "sagging DVD sales." Only nuking Redbox and Netflix would do that, and even that might not work.

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Patrick de Groot
Expert Film Handler

Posts: 161
From: Sprang-Capelle, Netherlands
Registered: Apr 2001

posted 02-15-2010 03:54 PM

In The Netherlands the same thing is happening. Alice is boycotted from all cinemas. It even made it as tv news item. They said cinemas in other (Europe) countries are doing the same thing. I think Disney will change its mind before the release. However, advertising is removed. So it looks like serious business.

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Jonathan Althaus
Master Film Handler

Posts: 435
From: Bedford, TX
Registered: Dec 2008

posted 02-15-2010 06:33 PM

At least one of the big 3 here in the US is uncertain of whether or not they will be showing it, according to a close personal friend(and they are usually accurate).

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Julio Roberto
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 938
From: Madrid, Madrid, Spain
Registered: Oct 2008

posted 02-15-2010 08:09 PM

Another reason to boycott this film is Disney's refusal to offer 35mm prints in 3D in spite of the cost to them being minimun just to force the downgrade to digital of exhibitors for its own benefit.

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Jack Ondracek
Film God

Posts: 2348
From: Port Orchard, WA, USA
Registered: Oct 2002

posted 02-16-2010 11:13 AM

quote: Julio Roberto
Another reason to boycott this film is Disney's refusal to offer 35mm prints in 3D in spite of the cost to them being minimun just to force the downgrade to digital of exhibitors for its own benefit.

That may be a bit extreme right now. Disney sort of painted themselves into a corner, pushing their "Disney Digital 3D" as hard as they have. If Technicolor signs up some screens and Disney sees them full of everyone else's films, I'd bet they'll come around eventually.

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Michael Brown
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1522
From: Bradford, England
Registered: May 2001

posted 02-18-2010 05:08 PM

Cineworld cinemas have issued a statement that they have resolved the issue and will be showing Alice.

Link : web page

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Alice in Wonderland 3D to be Shown at Cineworld

--
Cineworld is delighted to announce it will screen Disney and Tim Burton’s highly anticipated Alice in Wonderland nationwide on over 150 screens. The film will be released on the 5th of March in both 2D and 3D.

After much speculation around whether or not major cinema exhibitors in the UK would play the film, Cineworld has reached an agreement with the Walt Disney Company UK.

Cineworld Chief Executive Steve Wiener comments “we are extremely pleased to have reached a satisfactory compromise on this matter. As leaders in 3D we did not want the public to miss out on such a visual spectacle. As the success of Avatar has shown there is currently a huge appetite for the 3D experience”.

Cineworld has made significant investment in installing a total of 163 digital screens across its entire estate. A significant increase to the Cineworld Digital Estate is planned and will be announced once finalised.

The investment to date has led Cineworld to having one of the largest 3D estates in the UK. Cineworld uses technology from RealD, the world leaders in 3D, in 150 of its digital screens enabling it to show 3D movies to over 40,000 customers at any one time.
---------------------------------------------------------------

I wonder if Vue and Odeon will follow?

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Sam Cat
Film Handler

Posts: 19
From: Brisbane, Qld, Australia
Registered: Dec 2005

posted 02-21-2010 04:44 AM

This is starting to get interesting. I saw on the web today that AMC in the states may also boycott Alice.

Warner brothers are also saying that they want to reduce the window on Guardians of Gahoole.

I think that these decisions could stop millions of dollars being invested in exhibition on new fitouts, renewing chairs, and lack of funds for cinema operators going into new ventures.

Imagine what is going to happen with Gahoole. We will be screening it and all the stores will have signs up saying buy it on dvd for christmas. It seems like they are looking to make cinemas market their product and supermarkets market their product at the same time.

The window is the only thing protecting the cinema business.

They are saying that they are reducing the window because cinema had record boxoffice and dvd sales didn't.

What they aren't saying is that when dvd sales were doing better than cinema they were still decreasing the window. This is just an excuse. It seems like they don't want cinema to outgross dvd's. They are happier the other way around.

With 3d tv's coming out shortly cinemas may not be able to hang onto their audience in the future as well. The home market will evuantually over take again with larger, cheaper plasmas, cheaper downloads etc just give them time.

Cinemas will always need protection. When tv came out the window was alot bigger than 4 months and cinemas still closed down.

They have stated that dvd is more profitable than cinema. But if they lose say 10% from cinema and give 10% to dvd they will make more than 10% profit.

If the distributors want to look at short term profit then they will lose in the long term and so will we. As our leases are going to keep going up, our labour will keep going up and our profits will keep going down.

I think that one of the reasons dvd sales are down is because people are preferring to buy tv shows and not dvd's. That is my opinion. It could just be a phase for one or two years. But I don't think they should hurt one business for the sake of another.

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