Cinemark won’t play Disney’s ‘Raya and the Last Dragon’: the reason – deadline

EXCLUSIVE: The third US Cinemark exhibitor will not play Raya and the Last Dragon next weekend, when Disney makes the title available in theaters and for $ 30 on Disney + on March 5. While the big studios experimented extensively with theater showcases during the pandemic, Raya it is a clear case that not all exhibitors will simply swallow whatever is thrown at them.

I heard that Cinemark is not the only exhibitor who is not scheduling the feature film directed by Don Hall-Carlos Lopez Estrada. Harkins and Cineplex in Canada are not playing Raya or. Note that sometimes these negotiations can come to an end and titles may appear on signs.

So, wait, what happened here? How can an exhibitor be legal with HBO Max titles for Warner Bros. theaters, and not with a Disney + PVOD title? Basically, I heard from sources that Disney remained pretty strict on its terms for Raya. If the display didn’t like the terms, well, then they don’t need to play the movie. On the other hand, I heard that Warners in its recent HBO Max titles, that is, Wonder Woman 1984, Judas and the Black Messiah, The Little Things and Tom Jerry have reduced their rental terms and, therefore, this is the reason why more exhibitors have adopted the titles.

Disney in his opening note reported that Raya will be shown in more than 2,000 cinemas this Friday, including 200 IMAX screens, 360 Premium large format screens, 160 3D locations and 45 D-Box / 4D screens. The opening for Raya and the Last Dragon is in the range of $ 6 million to $ 7 million + according to industry estimates. Although New York is reopening with restrictions of 25% of the capacity of the auditorium, Cinemark does not have cinemas in the five neighborhoods. Raya will face Lionsgate’s Tom Holland-Daisy Ridley sci-fi film YA Chaos Walking this weekend as well as the second weekend of the Tom Jerry.

A Cinemark representative told Deadline tonight: “In the current operating environment, we are making short-term booking decisions on a discreet basis, film by film, with a focus on the long-term benefit of exhibitors, studios and viewers. While we are talking to The Walt Disney Company, we have not yet reached acceptable licensing terms for Raya and the Last Dragon. As we continue to work with our studio partners, we remain optimistic that we will come up with mutually beneficial terms that will give viewers the opportunity to see the exciting film programming in our cinemas. “

The deadline has reached Disney. We’ll let you know if they comment.