Friday, February 02, 2007

Night at the Museum

These cinemas are on to a loser here:

Some of Britain's biggest cinema chains have pulled hit comedy "Night at the Museum" from their screens in protest against Hollywood studio Twentieth Century Fox's plans to rush out the DVD version.

The move is the latest in a tussle between film theatres and studios over the shrinking time gap between the cinema and DVD release, which theatres fear will discourage the public from paying at the box office.

According to specialist film publications, the UK decision follows a similar standoff last week in Germany, where leading cinema chains forced Fox into concessions over the DVD release of "Eragon" by pulling other movies made by the studio, including "Museum," whose box office receipts plummeted as a result.

"As of today (Friday) we are no longer going to be showing the film on our screens," said a spokeswoman for Odeon, Britain's largest cinema chain with more than 840 screens.

The DVD market is worth vastly more to the studios that the cinema releases are. Offered a choice they'll go for the DVD's and bugger Odeon.

 

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