UK Cinemas May Boycott Tim Burton's ALICE IN WONDERLAND
It looks like there's a chance that the UK's major theater chains will boycott the Tim Burton Disney film, Alice in Wonderland. The reason for the boycott is due to the recent news that Disney has planned to shorten the theatrical run for the film from 17 weeks in theater to only 12. The reason Disney has decided to do this is so they could get it out on DVD faster, and help maximize their home entertainment revenues. Disney has given the theater exhibitors advance warning of its intentions with the run length of the film. A studio source described the 12-week deal as a "take it or leave it" proposition that is not up for negotiation. The big UK exhibitors refuse to book any film that doesn't have a guaranteed four-month theatrical run. The Gaurdian reports:
If neither side climbs down, the 3D film will not play at any Odeon, Vue or Cineworld site across the country, representing 95% of the UK's 3D screens.
That means Disney would forfeit a substantial amount of the film's projected £40m UK box-office gross. It will be tricky for the studio to explain that to Burton, who lives in London and shot Alice In Wonderland largely in Devon and Cornwall.
This little bit of news really sucks for those of you who reside in the UK. It doesn't look like Disney is going to budge on this one. They've made up their mind and they're sticking to it. So it's up to the UK theaters now. Both Odeon and Vue have already pulled all trailers and promotional materials for the film from their cinemas, and have stopped selling advance tickets. So it looks like they're pretty serious about their stance as well.
I guess we'll find out what happens here in the near future.