Disney’s decision to simultaneously launch Black Widow in theaters and Disney + causes tension between the company and theaters.
Walt Disney Co.’s decision to launch Black Widow simultaneously in theaters and Disney + has caused great tension between House of Mouse and movie theaters in the United States.
Concerned about surviving in a post-pandemic world, a group of movie theater owners are considering ways to react against Disney, sources say Wall Street Newspaper. “We made no threat,” Adam Aron, chief executive of AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc., revealed to the publication. He added, however, that “it is widely known that AMC threatened not to show films if we could not find business terms that we found acceptable.”
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While Disney declined to comment on its current relationship with theater chains, the company said in the announcement about Black WidowThe disclosure that he was happy to provide consumers with more to see the film safely.
Tensions between Disney and theaters in North America seemed to reach a boiling point after the announcement that Raya and the Last Dragon would be released in both theaters and on the Disney + streaming platform in March.
Tony Beaverson, owner of Big Horn Cinemas in Cody, Wyoming, said at the time: “I’m playing Raya, but this is probably the last Disney title I’m going to present. “Meanwhile, Cinemark Holdings Inc. – America’s third largest cinema chain – has chosen to boycott Raya. Harkins Theaters, which has more than 30 domestic locations, also chose not to show the film, and Regal Entertainment Group of the Cineworld Group PLC did not offer Raya in most of your locations.
Beaverson added that the titles available in July will play an important role in whether he will delay Disney’s defense. Black Widow release. Other films currently scheduled to hit theaters before Black Widow include the Fast and furious sequence F9 on June 25 and Top Gun: Maverick on July 2nd. “We will accept whatever comes,” he said. “I have to think about the city I’m living in and my business … people want to watch [on the big screen]. “
Sources close to the situation confirm that Disney previously guaranteed a higher percentage of ticket sales in theaters during the windows that exclusively showed the films. When Disney offers movies on its digital platform, it can keep all the revenue, which means that cinemas lose a large part of the profits they would normally generate.
This is not the first time that cinemas have expressed frustration with Disney. In 2013, AMC and Regal refused to sell tickets online for Iron Man 3 after Disney demanded a bigger share in ticket sales. Although the problem was finally resolved, the terms of the agreement were never disclosed. Disney also caused waves when it required cinemas to pay 65 percent of ticket sales revenue, more than traditional 50-50 movie theaters usually do in 2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
“We feel that what they did was a contradiction of their previously expressed belief in the importance of the theatrical experience and suggests to us that they are an unreliable exhibition partner,” said Byron Berkley, president of the Independent Cinema Alliance, an organization that is an association of cinema operators. independent theater.
Although Disney did not release online sales data for the two films it offered on Disney + through its Premier Access fee, it also plans to release its live-action Cruella in theaters and Disney + for an extra $ 29.99 on May 28.
Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff / Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbor as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian, OT Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff. The film hits theaters and Disney + Premier Access on July 9.
Source: WSJ
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