With the Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm brands under their umbrella, Disney is one of the most powerful movie studios on the planet. And in a year where many tentpole sized projects have fizzled, to the point of impacting the bottom line of cinema chains, exhibitors are more than happy to have a sure thing land in their theaters. However, Disney knows the power they have when it comes to “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and they are making cinema owners pay for the privilege of showing a massive hit movie.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Disney is putting what’s being described as “onerous” conditions on cinemas that want to show the highly anticipated ‘The Last Jedi.’ Firstly, theaters must commit to showing the movie in their biggest screening room for at least four weeks. On top of that, Disney is plucking 65% of the ticket sales, and if they find out that an exhibitor broke the conditions of the agreement, they will be charged an additional 5% of the ticket sales as a penalty. The agreements were all signed prior to tickets being made available for sale.
Again, it’s worth emphasizing just how much leverage Disney has. The studio had 26% market share in 2016 with only 13 releases, and with box office already down 5% this year compared to last, cinema owners can fight and maybe miss the opportunity to show one of the biggest movies of 2017, or give in, knowing that they are seeing a significant amount of dollars flowing right back to Disney. It should be noted, past “Star Wars” films had similar demands, but the penalty for non-compliance is a new wrinkle.
However, Disney isn’t entirely heartless, and these rules only take effect once “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” hits $500 million in both the U.S. and Canada, which is widely expected to happen. Still, for smaller markets, where the entire audience for ‘The Last Jedi’ might be maxed out in less than four weeks, this could be a challenge. With cinema owners already struggling to find ways to get audiences, keeping a movie in your biggest screen (or on your only screen) for an entire month is a lot to ask.
Thoughts? Any cinema owners out there? Let us know what you think in the comments section.