Next Friday, March 5th, Tim Burton’s interpretation of Alice in Wonderland will open in theaters. The story was first written in 1865 by Lewis Carroll and was adapted numerous times into film, most notably, the 1951 Disney animated picture. The film contains an all-star cast including Johnny Depp, Helena Bonhan Carter, Michael Sheen, Anne Hathaway, and a number of other successful British actors. Similar to the 1951 version of Alice in Wonderland, this 2010 theatrical release will be distributed by Disney, yet, it will feature a combination of live action along with its animation. Another advancement from the 1951 film includes the fact that the film will be released in 3D and shown in IMAX3D in addition to regular theaters.
In an effort to counteract declining DVD sales, Disney announced it would shorten the film’s theatrical release to only 12 weeks (as opposed to the more traditional theatrical release period of 17 weeks) and open up the DVD sales after those 12 weeks. Movies have remained in theaters as long as 5 to 6 months within the past decade, but Disney has decided to shorten the release of two movies a year in hopes it will increase its rapidly declining DVD sales. This upset a number of theaters, including the Odeon/UCI cinema group. In a statement made to The Hollywood Reporter, the group explains:
Odeon/UCI has invested considerable sums of money, especially in the U.K., over the past 12 months to install digital projection systems in its cinemas to enable customers to enjoy 3D… The popularity of 3D titles meant that last year these films played in Odeon/UCI cinemas for an average of 18 weeks from initial release… We have a very full lineup of films to offer audiences over the next few weeks, including two new 3D titles [other than Alice in Wonderland]. These will now take priority in our cinemas.”
In essence, the Odeon/UCI group was fully prepared to stage a boycott of Disney’s 2010 release of Alice in Wonderland, which could have seriously hurt the film, given the company’s ownership of over 100 theaters in the UK alone. Then, on February 24th, Odeon agreed to show the film as desired by Disney. This agreement was met in part from the public’s reaction, as noted in polls in the UK paper The Guardian and Disney’s commitment to not run ads for the DVD within the UK until at least 6 to 8 weeks after Alice‘s theatrical debut.
This strikes a very interesting change in industry standards. As films continue to struggle to bring in money to the studios, it is only expected that studios will take new measure to reign in profits. Disney seems confident that people will be more likely to buy DVDs when they are offered closer to the release of the film. But what if no change in DVD sales occurs from this new approach? What other measures could get taken?
It also seems odd that Disney believes taking a 3D film out of theaters to release it on DVD (2D) will increase revenue for the studio. What makes films more enticing than TV and movies you watch at home is the spectacle. Shortening its theatrical release period would seem to diminish one of the film’s major strengths over other entertainment mediums. We’ll have to wait and see…
Projections 