Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Video release hold-back ?

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Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 07-22-2004, 07:49 PM:

Todays very hot issue in Denmark is decent hold-back time before a film is released on video. Our local norm has slowly grown from twelve to six months, with no protests at all, when stuff like "Prince and I" gets out on video just two months after cinema start, but a single distributor seems to be trying out the limits: "Peter Pan" will be on video next monday, which is precisely 3½ month from premiere, and the same will happen to "Garfield", which is to open in Danish theatres on august, 6th. For once, our "unions" can get together: All cinemas that are members of the three cinema organizations have today been recommended to take down all posters and stop running trailers for the pussycat, so that that the film - our first new kid's movie for four months - will probaly not be shown i Denmark at all. This is really a first - the biggest chains and the smallest independents standing together, -but will it help ? - and how much will it cost every house in first hand. -Not to mention the distributor, having 60 danish-dubbed prints in stock, that can not be used in any other country. Disagreements are always unpleasant, but for once I think it's good, someone started the discussion.

What is the norm in other parts of the world ? - Average hold-back ? - Have Your cinemas been fighting against these still closer-coming videos ? (-and did it help at all ?)

Per

Posted by Jonathan M. Crist (Member # 413) on 07-22-2004, 09:40 PM:

In the US the average time from date of inital release to video is now about 4 months. In the case of Sony this is down to about 3 months.

The US theatre owners have not - nor ever will they - particpate in anything like a boycott. They would be too afraid of not getting the next big release from whatever distribtutor was involved.

Posted by Per Hauberg (Member # 529) on 07-23-2004, 07:33 PM:

So it has always been here too. -No back-up, because of fear, but this time: The whole bunch from Top-circuit Nordisk Film via German intruder CinemaxX to us little people out here in the cornfields - all 160 of us (!) stood together - and won !

GARFIELD premieres in theatres next week, and will no go video until 2005. Local Fox manager went as far as calling cinema owners stupid and hypocratic in the drop.

It would have been CATastrophic, just to skip this pic, as I said earlier, -it's our first kid stuff in four months - They are just hungry out there (I hope).

Except from having too little time now to market the film, I'm glad, it went this way, and even though the reviews over there were not too pretty, I'm looking forward to run it.