The Cooler Shaun King (@Java_jigga) shared their experience on the matter by posting a Twitter thread commenting on how frustrating Disney screening contracts are for many movie theaters, especially smaller ones.
The conversation started with the video of an interview where Quentin Tarantino details how Disney ruined the premiere of his movieThe Hateful Eight (2015) by basically forcing the Cinerama Dome, a historic theater in Los Angeles, California, to breach their contract with Tarantino.
Credit: Los Angeles Times
Disney requested to extend screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015) throughout the entire Holiday season, according to Tarantino, and threatened to remove the film from all ArcLight theaters if the Cinerama Dome refused, which was a significant change from the initial contract. It is worth noting that Tarantino created the movie in a special 70mm format, thinking of screening it at the Cinerama Dome, and wanted to show his feature film there more than in any other theater. Unfortunately, Disney won this conflict, pushing The Hateful Eight out of the Cinerama Dome.
Credit: Sony Pictures
The Cooler Shaun King mentions that contracts like this are basically locking smaller theaters, like the single-screen theater they work at, into showing Doctor Strange for two months.
I work a single screen and we’re basically locked in to showing doctor strange for like 2 months because of contracts like these
I work a single screen and we’re basically locked in to showing doctor strange for like 2 months because of contracts like these https://t.co/tAvqlrY1gM
The conversation continued by explaining that Disney takes about 80% of the ticket revenue for the first three weeks of screenings. This number later drops to 60% for a week, then 40%, and so on, practically forcing movie theaters to screen films for two months if they want to keep most of the box office revenue.
Disney keeps something like 80% of our ticket sales for the first 3 weeks, then drops it down to 60 for a week, then 40 and eventually if you show the movie for like 2 months you get to keep most of the box office.
The Cooler Shaun King also adds that, if the theater decided to show another movie during the week, they are not allowed to advertise it, and that it is not only Disney but that most movie distributors set similar conditions, putting single-screen theaters in essentially an “either you’re not showing movies, or you’re showing ours” situation.
It’s not just Disney too, distributors as a middleman industry are evil. We would love to show other movies sometimes or do multiple showings of different movies but because we’re a single screen it’s counted as essentially either you’re not showing movies or your showing ours.
Many viewers also shared similar experiences with other small theaters, like @UnquietAndrew, who commented that a local theater had to expand to a second location just to be able to screen Disney and other movies simultaneously, and @blackeye_club, who said that half the screens at the theater he worked at were locked into screening Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017) for six weeks regardless of the movie’s performance, with multiple screenings with no viewers in the theater.
It is unfortunate to see movie theaters struggle with the newest releases of major franchises, but unless contracts are made in a more individualized way, there is not much they can do against this “monopoly”.
More on Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
“To restore a world where everything is changing, Strange seeks help from his ally Wong, the Sorcerer Supreme, and the Avengers’ most powerful Scarlet Witch, Wanda. But a terrible threat looms over humanity and the entire universe that no longer can be done by their power alone. Even more surprising, the greatest threat in the universe looks exactly like Doctor Strange.”
Credit: Marvel Studios
Doctor Strange 2 is directed by Sam Raimi and stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange/Doctor Strange in the main timeline, but he will also play other variants in the movie, such as Zombie Strange, Defender Strange, and Strange Supreme.
Have you watched Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness yet? Let us know in the comments below!
Want to see Star-Lord/Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), Iron Man (Robert Downey, Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Captain Marvel/Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) some more? What about Loki? Spider-Man: Freshman Year will soon be coming to Disney+ (among other announcements such as X-Men ’97, What If…? Season 2, Echo, She-Hulk, and Agatha: House of Harkness); click here to watch today!
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Credit: Marvel Studios
