Looks like there’s trouble a’ brewing between Disney and cinema chains in the UK. Disney want to cut the gap between the cinema release of Alice In Wonderland and the DVD release from 17 weeks to 12 weeks. Odeon, Vue and Cineworld have said they will boycott the film if the window tightens. Representatives of the cinema chains argue that closing the window could impact on their revenue as it would deter people from going to see the film on the big screen if it was out on DVD two months later.

This could all be just a storm in a tea cup, but Disney have told them they were given plenty of notice and argue the fact 97 per cent of box office takings occur within an eight week period. Disney are looking at a projected loss of around £40 million if the cinemas go ahead with the boycott.

The Guardian quote Disney exec, Bob Chapek, who explained the current state of affairs:

“We feel that it’s important for us to maintain a healthy business on the exhibition side and a healthy business on the home video side… We remain committed to theatrical windows, with the need for exceptions to accommodate a shortened time frame on a case-by-case basis, such as with Disney’s Alice in Wonderland.”

There are pros and cons to this argument but Odeon and Vue have currently pulled all promo material, the trailer from their cinemas and stopped ticket bookings. The world premiere is still going ahead as it’s not a commercial screening.

Who will win this battle? Remember it’s the film fans this affects the most. Could a major film like Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland not get distributed and screened in the UK? It is madness and near inconceivable, so let’s hope they can agree to settle the matter. The game of brinkmanship continues…