my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home

» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » FOX pushes back Home Video release due to theaters' complaints (Page 1)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Author Topic: FOX pushes back Home Video release due to theaters' complaints Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-01-2003 05:52 PM                     Finally, they spoke up! Let's see if more will listen... Fox to Delay 'Idol' Film's Video Release By Nicole Sperling LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The home video release of the upcoming "American Idol" movie spinoff "From Justin to Kelly" has been pushed back after numerous theater owners balked at the original street date, which was scheduled just six weeks after the theatrical debut on June 13. Sources said the studio has moved the date back by about six weeks to early September, though representatives from Fox say no date has yet been set. "As with all of our films, no home entertainment release date has been set prior to the opening in theaters," Fox Studios spokeswoman Flo Grace said. Sources involved in the negotiations confirm that Fox had been fighting with several of the country's leading exhibitors, including Regal Entertainment Group, Loews Entertainment and National Amusements, who had threatened to not play the film if the timings between the release windows remained so tight. The theater chains declined comment. Release windows have been gradually closing for some time in the industry. According to numbers tracked by the National Association of Theater Owners, the average time between theatrical and home video release totaled five months and eight days for the industry this year, while last year's totals were five months and 12 days. According to one studio executive who wished to remain anonymous, studios feel it is appropriate to tighten the windows, considering movies come off the screen quicker than they used to because of both the widened release schedules and the depth of product in the marketplace. "DVD release windows have become as important as the theatrical releases," the executive said. "You can't automatically put it out six months later and miss the best windows, particularly when it comes to the holiday season. Now it's a much more strategic decision. Studios more and more are looking at DVD release dates in a competitive manner." Sources in the industry recognize Fox's desire to shorten the window on "From Justin to Kelly," Rather than wait the three months or longer and risk losing the momentum created from the television show's massive popularity, the studio was looking to get the movie out to the home video market before the end of summer. Reuters/Hollywood Reporter =TMP=  |  IP: Logged Bobby Henderson "Ask me about Trajan." Posts: 10973 From: Lawton, OK, USA Registered: Apr 2001 posted 06-01-2003 06:01 PM                     Its about time the exhibitors started raising some hell about this. The movie studios are pulling all kinds of stunts to take away from commercial movie theater circuits. The short release windows between theatrical and DVD is one problem. The other is spamming many thousands of prints into circulation making movies play themselves out within only a couple weeks or so. That puts the commercial theaters at a disadvantage in the contracts for box office reciepts. In early weeks the studios get most of the money. Theaters only realize bigger returns when a movie has "legs". The studios only seem be amputating the legs off of many would-be blockbusters. In the end, the studios could be strip-mining their own economy. What is a movie that doesn't have the prestige of playing in a commercial theater? A "straight-to-video" title. That has a very negative "made for TV" marketing tinge to it. The movie industry overall will become much much smaller and lose billions if the commercial theaters are not around to make a movie release a REAL movie release. The studios had better start doing something to consider the interests of their first and quite arguably most important presentation venue for their product.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 06-02-2003 01:15 AM                        Good for the exhibitors! They probably don't see 7 days worth of business in this picture anyway, much less the 2-week minimum they'll probably have to accept. Somebody at Regal is probably thinking about all the no-show auditoriums they'll be dealing with chain-wide, without the added pressure of an early DVD release.  |  IP: Logged Joshua Tefay Film Handler Posts: 10 From: Sydney, NSW, Australia Registered: May 2003 posted 06-02-2003 06:46 AM                     With such an abundance of product flooding into theatres its fairly obvious that it would be in the interests of the studios to churn these films through theatrical release, milk them quickly for as much return as they can achieve, and then ship them out to DVD release where they will generate even more income. The gap between theatrical and home entertainment release has narrowed so much that many movies can be purchased on DVD online whilst they are still in theatrical release in Australia. (Sometimes even before hitting screens in Australian theatres.)  |  IP: Logged Mike Blakesley Film God Posts: 12767 From: Forsyth, Montana Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-02-2003 12:09 PM                        Gotta hurry up and get that DVD out before the opening weekend crowd tells the whole world the movie isn't any good.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 06-02-2003 03:42 PM                        ... all true. However, oversaturating the market with prints burns through the available audience during the first & second week, when the percentages paid to the studios are the highest... good for the studios... bad for the exhibitors. Crappy films at high percentages may not make the studios much... but it can put an auditorium in a money-losing position more quickly. Then, an exhibitor needs to hope he's got enough other films in the building that are doing enough business to make a profit and subsidize the square footage being paid to keep a losing picture. It can't be any easier, knowing in advance you're probably not going to break even on the title. I sure don't envy you people in Australia. That's gotta be tough. For that matter, maybe that's why they load on so much more advertising there..?  |  IP: Logged Charles Everett Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: New Jersey Registered: May 2001 posted 06-02-2003 06:23 PM                     Now that the has hit the fan Fox ought to cancel the theatrical release and send From Justin to Kelly direct to video in July. "But the theatrical release is 11 days away!" you say. So what? Prozac Nation was to have opened this Friday in NYC/LA but Miramax decided last week to delay that film again.  |  IP: Logged Bill Gabel Film God Posts: 3873 From: Technicolor / Postworks NY, USA Registered: Jan 2002 posted 06-02-2003 07:54 PM                     Charles They should just open it as planned and release on video on the same day. Lets go for a "Day and Date" release. Warner did this with a film called "Hey, Good Lookin". It opened at the Mann's National Theatre in Westwood and came out on the same day on video. Yes, Miramax is holding on to "Prozac Nation" for alittle longer. I ran it late last year.  |  IP: Logged Kris Brunton Expert Film Handler Posts: 108 From: Napanee, Ontario, Canada Registered: Apr 2000 posted 06-03-2003 10:38 AM                     6 Weeks isn't much of a lag time between theater to video at all. Good for the exhibitors!!  |  IP: Logged Jeff Stuckey Film Handler Posts: 62 From: Oklahoma City, OK, USA Registered: May 2003 posted 06-03-2003 01:22 PM                     Actually, Fox has now pushed the release date back one week. It's now coming out on June 20.  |  IP: Logged Joshua Tefay Film Handler Posts: 10 From: Sydney, NSW, Australia Registered: May 2003 posted 06-04-2003 03:00 AM                     I guess one positive thing that has come out of shorter release windows is the greater occurrance of simultaneous worldwide releases. This is a good thing, especially for us people in Australia. Still, its usually only reserved for the biggest blockbusters!  |  IP: Logged Carl Martin Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1424 From: Oakland, CA, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-04-2003 05:13 AM                        why is this a good thing? i suppose the studios deem it necessary to prevent bootlegging, and to prevent people from telling their overseas friends that a film sucks before they have seen it. but for exhibitors and patrons this blitzkrieg mode of distribution seems like a very bad thing. high print runs demand high speed and minimal quality control. the studios try and get everyone out to see the films right away so business tapers quickly. so many prints coming and going means that theaters have a lot of build up and break down work, and corners get cut. the few films that actually have legs circulate in thrashed prints, while the rest are quickly and wastefully destroyed and a few years down the line are unavailable. why are we in such a hurry? carl  |  IP: Logged Charles Everett Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1470 From: New Jersey Registered: May 2001 posted 06-22-2003 11:57 AM                     From Justin to Kelly opened outside the weekend top 10 with an estimated $2.875M. Fox should have kept the video date for July. Then again two Regals in Bucks County PA each opened 2 prints of this masterpiece.  |  IP: Logged Jack Ondracek Film God Posts: 2348 From: Port Orchard, WA, USA Registered: Oct 2002 posted 06-23-2003 12:50 AM                        I heard one of those theatres was used for a premier, partly because Justin lives about 4 miles from the place.  |  IP: Logged Thomas Procyk Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1842 From: Royal Palm Beach, FL, USA Registered: Feb 2002 posted 06-23-2003 01:22 PM                     I wonder if he attended a regular screening to see how badly his movie is bombing and to witness the start of the end of his career firsthand. =TMP=  |  IP: Logged

All times are Central (GMT -6:00)

This topic comprises 2 pages: 1  2

Printer-friendly view of this topic

Hop To: Select a Forum: Category: Operations -------------------- Digital Cinema Forum Film Handlers' Forum Large Format Forum Ground Level Feature Info, Trailer Attachments & REAL Credit Offsets Category: Community -------------------- Film-Yak Film Handlers' Movie Reviews The Afterlife Bob Maar's Joke-A-Thon Category: Classified -------------------- Equipment and Supplies Wanted/For Sale Help Wanted/Seeking Employment Category: System -------------------- Software Beta Testing Forum

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.