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This topic comprises 3 pages: 1 2 3
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Author
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Topic: Disney booking conditions changed?
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Melanie Loggins
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 154
From: Wayne, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 04-14-2015 10:36 AM
It't not just their payment policies. Since I run a one-screen theatre in a small town, I will not book a movie for more than two weeks, and they won't let us have Avengers 2 on the break for less than three weeks. When I asked my sales guy if there was likely to be any budge on that, he flat out ignored me. And then if you DON'T take something on the break, they make you wait several more weeks to get something. I showed Big Hero 6 five weeks later than I wanted to (but still paying on-the-break percentage), and ended up skipping Into the Woods altogether. I'm really looking at the April and May schedule to decide, if I can't get A2 until 4 or 5 weeks later, is there really any point? Maybe I'll just skip it? It sounds like heresy, but financially, it might work out just fine,
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Frank Angel
Film God
Posts: 5305
From: Brooklyn NY USA
Registered: Dec 1999
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posted 04-14-2015 12:11 PM
First off, a boycott doesn't put anyone in murky legal waters. As long as no one is conspiring (key word, conspiring) to do harm or conspiring to restrain trade, a group of theatres can do EXACTLY what the MPAA does -- set business guidelines that members may or may not adhere to. Ever wonder why Master Contracts from all the majors say just about the same thing, sometimes word for word? Studios don't seem to have any legal problem setting their conditions in unum unita, i.e., together as a group.
BTW, exhibition has such a group -- it's called NATO, AKA the "It's OK, I don't need any lube...I'll just relax" guys. Unfortunately, its members are not nearly so aggressive as the MPAA or as bold or as of single-minded purpose; the best word that comes to mind is wimpish. But that said, in today's climate of mega-chains plus titles opening all over the planet on the same weekend, all that really needs to happen is just a single chain standing up and saying, "We won't book a picture under those terms." and that would sent any studio back to the drawing board; certainly they'd come back a lot more meek and ready to negotiate.
The practical problem is, of course, as Justin says, that the small exhibitor can't afford to jeopardize his business to make a point. He doesn't have much of a choice -- either he capitulates or his business is damaged. BUT let one of the big three decide certain terms are unacceptable and that certainly would make a seismic impact. Any idea how much power an AMC or Regal would have if they decided not to book AVENGERS? Any idea how stockholders would rebel at the prospect of losing nearly 1/3rd of the available screens to play a blockbuster?
For the small exhibitor, it would take a NATO to wield that kind of muscle, but as said, NATO...well, don't hold your breath. The independent just has to suck it up and do what he's told. You want to be in the business, you pay the bag man.
So why don't any of the big three stand their ground? I think the answer is that they are all in bed together. The studios know what kind of a sleeping beast they are dealing with and they make sure the big 3 are not asked to do anything they would balk at. I grant you, when the AMC booking team says to The Rodent's sales team that they want to play a title but are not happy with such and such terms, they are not flat out ignored -- irksome sticking points are compromised away on both sides. That only happens to independent operators like Melaine and others in their technicolor dreams.
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Melanie Loggins
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 154
From: Wayne, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 04-14-2015 12:37 PM
Mike, I know I'm threatening to derail the conversation, but when I DID open Avengers, the first weekend, I wasn't even 100% full. The next weekend dropped exactly in half. (82% to 41%) The one time I've held a movie over for a third weekend (Catching Fire) not only did my third weekend drop in half again, people in my town started to rebel. "Oh, are we the Hunger Games theatre now?" I got asked. Half-jokingly, sure, but I still registered the annoyance. And I lost the people who come every week for not just one week, but a habit-threatening two weeks. Three weeks is just not going to happen, not clean.
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Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 04-14-2015 03:37 PM
quote: Melanie Loggins
And I lost the people who come every week for not just one week, but a habit-threatening two weeks. Three weeks is just not going to happen, not clean.
What I do, both with 2-week and the rare 3-week movie, is I put the beginning and ending playdates on the marquee. That tends to spread the crowd out somewhat and we avoid sellouts. If people don't know how long a movie is playing, they assume it's just one week (since the majority of our movies DO play just one week) so they tend to pack into the first week because they don't want to miss the movie. But with those dates posted, the must-see-it-first people will still show up, but the more casual fans -- who are the majority -- will hold off until later on.
The only time this backfires is with the very rare extended holdover. Most recently it was Cinderella -- we played it 2 weeks, but then decided to keep it a third week because it was still doing well and there were no great alternatives...and it was mostly crickets all week.
I don't really think keeping a movie extra weeks threatens their moviegoing habit all that much, since hardly anyone goes to each and every movie. We have a lot of people who go every two or three weeks, so a movie playing a longer time isn't a big deal to them.
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Melanie Loggins
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 154
From: Wayne, NE, USA
Registered: Aug 2011
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posted 04-14-2015 09:23 PM
Mike, that's a good idea, the dates on the marquee! I'll have to think about how to use that. I DO have a few people who come every week. I've literally been asked, as I sold popcorn to someone, "So, what IS this movie this week?" We're just part of their routine, which is actually awesome.
Manny, yeah, we have a college in town, and Avengers 2 (like so many of those Marvel movies) opens the last day of finals. So most of the young people in town will be out of here by Friday afternoon. They'll come for the midnight (ahem, 8pm) show Thursday, and local peeps will come Friday and Saturday. By Sunday it's already slowing down.
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Marcel Birgelen
Film God
Posts: 3357
From: Maastricht, Limburg, Netherlands
Registered: Feb 2012
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posted 04-15-2015 05:32 AM
quote: Carsten Kurz
It's a different thing to tell them upfront that you want to boycott the movie, or that you simply do not book it.
It's also the thing that can get you some news coverage. Someone writing an article largely in your favor can help to educate the public in your favor. Disney surely doesn't want to be known as the big evil corporation they're sometimes are, they still have an image to defend, much more than any of those other studios. The Disney brand itself is a product, otherwise, nobody really gives a damn about Warner Brothers, Paramount, 20th Century Fox or whatever other logos get tagged onto the movies they watch.
quote: Frank Angel
First off, a boycott doesn't put anyone in murky legal waters. As long as no one is conspiring (key word, conspiring) to do harm or conspiring to restrain trade, a group of theatres can do EXACTLY what the MPAA does -- set business guidelines that members may or may not adhere to.
You do not even set guidelines, you just band together as a group with a common interest: The terms stay the way they are or else we won't play your content. You're not forcing anybody to join this group, although it would be good if they did, for their own future interests. If your own lobby group (NATO) isn't helping because they have conflicting interests or don't want to risk the "good standing" with the studios, then you should really take matters into your own hands. Or else it's better to already take the lube into your left hand...
quote: Frank Angel
So why don't any of the big three stand their ground? I think the answer is that they are all in bed together. The studios know what kind of a sleeping beast they are dealing with and they make sure the big 3 are not asked to do anything they would balk at.
It would be interesting if anybody could get something to prove this. If those big chains really got spared by those recent changes, you could stir up some dust at other levels and ask Burbank some interesting questions.
I doubt Disney wants headlines like: Big evil Mousecorp screws independent cinemas on the brink of biggest release of the year.
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Michael Putlack
Expert Film Handler
Posts: 187
From: Fort Collins, Colorado
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 04-26-2015 03:44 AM
Here is more info on the German boycott with some specifics of the terms be raised from 47.7% to 53%.
http://www.dw.de/german-cinemas-boycott-avengers/a-18402619
quote:
German cinemas boycott 'Avengers'
While Captain America and Iron Man star in the film, "Avengers: Age of Ultron" has turned into a David and Goliath story in Germany. Small cinemas are boycotting the release because of Disney's growing demands.
When the Disney production "Avengers: Age of Ultron" opens in Germany on April 23, fans will have to head to the nearest big city to watch it.
The Hollywood blockbuster won't be shown on 686 screens in 193 small towns. The local movie theaters, mainly in cities with less than 50,000 residents, have refused to show the super hero blockbuster.
The reason is that Disney has raised its rental fee from 47.7 to 53 percent of ticket sales, which cinema owners said came as a complete surprise to them. In addition, a few new rules have been implemented: The money Disney had previously contributed to advertising has been cut, and advances for 3-D glasses have also been eliminated.
"Approaching the industry with these conditions is fully unusual and, for me, a scandal," said Andreas Kramer from the
The hub of the protest is in northern Germany, where the I.G. Nord serves as an advocacy group. Its spokesman, Karl-Heinz Meier, said, "We are worried - particularly about eastern Germany. When prices go up, then we have a serious problem that could force movie theaters to close."
Across Germany, cinemas have joined in the protest. "In the North, 100 cinemas protested. But now everyone believes in us. It stretches from Rendsburg to Upper Bavaria, from the Rhineland to Thüringen - across the whole country. Everyone is banding together and not showing the film," said Meier.
He added that he'd also received moral support from large cinemas chains in urban areas, which tend to be more accustomed to high rental rates. "They'd like to support us, but they can't because of their contracts."
The industry is currently dealing with enormous financial pressure, according to Andreas Kramer. Huge investments in modern marketing strategies, rising overhead, the cost of updating theaters, rising personnel costs due to Germany's newly introduced minimum wage, and the shift to digital technology have made it particularly challenging for smaller cinemas to keep up.
Kramer estimated that around 3.4 billion euros have been spent in recent years to equip theaters with digital projection technology. That in turn saves film distribution companies billions of euros since they no longer have to produce physical copies. However, they haven't contributed to the costs of modernizing cinemas.
Public funding is available for cinemas that are particularly in danger of extinction. However, the government's efforts to keep theaters alive are being counteracted by Disney's new conditions, Kramer told DW.
"The cinemas that have received public funding are being pushed up against a wall with rental pricing that are 5.3 percent higher," he said. "And that means tax payers' money in the form of sustainable cultural support is in danger."
It's not uncommon for rental rates to vary, since they have developed over time. Thirty or 40 years ago, cinemas used to be divided up into those that premiered films and those that showed movies after their premiere. While new films were released quickly in the big theaters in urban areas, smaller houses sometimes had to wait months to get a copy - that is, a film reel.
The small theaters are affected the most
Modern technology makes that process obsolete. Since film rental prices are not regulated, Disney is technically allowed to adjust its fees and boost its profits.
Looking ahead to Star Wars
This isn't the first time cinemas have boycotted a major film release. In 2003, 200 movie theaters refused to show "Hulk" when Disney also tried to raise the rental fees, Meier recalled.
Other film distributors haven't been quite as pushy, but seem to be waiting to see whether Disney can hold its ground with its new demands - or whether small cinema owners can stand up to the Goliath.
Although Disney's Germany branch only follows orders from the parent group in the US, German cinema owners are confident they'll make headway with the boycott. "The new Star Wars film is coming out at the end of the year. Disney manages distribution - things could get interesting," said Karl-Heinz Meier.
Disney declined to comment on the boycott. "It goes against our company policy to publically comment on confidential details regarding our business relationships," said Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Germany in a statement.
For Kramer, it's an affront: "Disney is taking on Germany's entire cinema industry."
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