Alice in Wonderland continued
While the dramatic gesture by European exhibitors in general, and Belgian ones in particular, received wide media coverage, the FedCin (Belgian Cinema Federation) announced on March 3 that Belgian exhibitors had decided to end their threat to boycott Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, the new Disney movie. The commercial power of entertainment giant Disney has thus prevailed across Europe, for Italian and Dutch exhibitors have also withdrawn their boycott threat.
In the UK, Odeon’s statement gave the impression that Disney had backed down on the issue of the window between the theatrical and DVD release. However, its competitors, Cineworld and Vue reached an agreement that included the reduction of the window to 13 weeks.
It is likely that Belgian exhibitors have accepted the same agreement as Cineworld and Vue, for the distribution window will indeed be reduced to three months for Alice in Belgium. However, the FedCin said that Disney has pledged to ensure that this practice remains an exception (there is talk of three films only in the next two years in the UK).
While all’s well that ends well for Alice, this mobilisation by FedCin remains remarkable on a Belgian scale. Indeed, in an ultra-competitive sector in which Kinepolis occupies what some consider an overly dominant position, this united front deserves mention, as relations between the super-group and other exhibitors can sometimes be stormy.
However, the FedCin is disappointed that the political sector remained so quiet on the matter. The absence of legislation in Belgium effectively keeps the profession in a state of painful uncertainty. Whereas there is still strength in unity for the moment, we may wonder how long this consensus and Disney’s promises will last, and above all, whether the other studios will give in over the next film to be the object of such blackmail.
(Translated from French)
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