UK cinemas to boycott Alice In Wonderland?

Do you remember when Odeon refused to show Rambo a few years ago? Well, the same treatment could be in store for Tim Burton's upcoming Alice In Wonderland adaptation (released 5 March), as Odeon, Vue and Cineworld are all set to boycott the movie. Adding salt to the wound, this would mean Tim Burton's latest will only be available to 5% of British cinemas with 3D screens.

So what's going on? Well, basically, Disney want to lower the time gap between a movie's theatrical premiere and its DVD/Blu-ray release. Disney say this is to help curb piracy (as audiences will be more willing to wait for a legal disc if they're available quicker), and the company also believe that it makes the majority of its box-office profits in the first 8 weeks of a film's release, so there's not much point keeping films around in cinemas after two months.

Currently, movies are released on DVD about 17 weeks after their theatrical release, but Disney want to lower that to 12 weeks. Unfortunately, while that makes good business sense for studios (who tend to make more money from DVD sales these days), cinema chains understandably prefer films to exist for about 4 months in the theatre so they can make money off ticket sales themselves. They're concern that too many people will prefer to wait 12 weeks and buy a DVD rather than go out for the big-screen experience.

Disney were hoping to make a projected £40m from Alice In Wonderland's UK run, as it's the first blockbuster of 2010 and significant 3D release post-Avatar, so there will certainly be a big financial loss if three prominent cinema chains refuse to show it. Disney have apparently flown in distribution bosses from the States to try and solve this standoff, but in the meantime publicity material for Alice In Wonderland has been taken down in Odeon and Vue's multiplexes and both chains aren't taking preorders for ticket.

So, it's a very interesting situation. In the case of Rambo, Odeon stood firm and Sylvester Stallone's action movie had its UK box-office performance significantly dented as a result. But will Disney allow a worse situation to arise, with £40m at stake? Also, do they genuinely believe British consumers would prefer to get Alice In Wonderland on DVD/Blu-ray quicker, rather than get to see the film in 3D at the cinema?

I can understand Disney's thinking with traditional movies, perhaps, but I would have thought they'd be eager to let Alice soak up money on 3D screens for as long as possible -- particularly in the wake of the all-conquering Avatar and buzz surrounding the 3D filmgoing experience. But hey, what do I know.