Recently, Disney announced they would be shortening the theatrical window of “Alice In Wonderland” worldwide so they could get the DVD and BluRay of the film in stores about three months after the film opens. This experiment by the studio is to test if home video sales, which have been on a decline industry wide, can benefit from appearing shortly after a film’s theatrical run, rather than a few months. Naturally, cinema owners were not impressed.
Vue Entertainment Ltd. and Odeon Cinemas in the UK – two of the three largest cinema chains in the nation – along with a large number of Dutch cinemas have already said they won’t be showing the film unless Disney backs down. Other European cinemas are contemplating similar action. Cinema owners are concerned that such a shortened window will cut into their ticket sales, and many are just upset at Disney’s handling of the situation. One European exhibitor executive said, “It was represented like ‘take it or leave.’ It was done brutally.”
And this isn’t the first time Disney has poked the eyes of European theater chains. Last year, “Up” landed in cinemas with Disney planning to release the DVD and BluRay to store shelves just two months later. When cinema owners protested that move, and threatened not to book “A Christmas Carol” on their screens, Disney changed their plans. With just a couple of weeks to go before “Alice In Wonderland” is set to open, it will be interesting to see how this plays out.
In related news, the video for Avril Lavigne’s “Alice Underground” has hit the web. The video features head-thumpingly obvious lyrics, atrocious songwriting and oh yeah, some new footage from the film.
