Iger: We'll force theater owners to close window
Filed under: Disney, Distribution, Exhibition, Home Entertainment
Another Monday, another batch of slightly-crazed (and probably clairvoyant) comments from Robert Iger in the Wall Street Journal. The gist is that the Disney CEO is still determined to close the theatrical-to-DVD window – by any means necessary. "We'll have a conversation with theater owners to see whether we can move them more peacefully," he told the paper. "But I think in the end, it's going to have to be more by force than through negotiation or diplomacy." Iger says that he tried to broker deals to sell DVDs of Chicken Little at theaters where the film was playing; "But," he says, "There's so much fear now about change that no one wants to sit down and have a frank discussion." If you couldn't tell by the fact that he's given two interviews on the topic to the same paper in two weeks, Iger's not backing down, and he's fully prepared for Disney to lead this charge whether the other studios like it or not. "The system right now feels like it's under stress and the consumer is definitely changing from a behavior perspective, and technology is allowing more change to occur either in distribution or consumption patterns. I think it behooves us to test the marketplace a fair amount and see what it will tolerate...No movie studio really wants to be first because it's like going over the hill first in battle. They don't want to take the most bullets."
So, that begs the question: is Disney bulletproof?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-06-2005 @ 1:51AM
jer said...
I don't think they're bulletproof, but they stand to gain alot from this paradigm shift. More and more people prefer to view on video, and if they can view it while the buzz is still good, more people will.
I'm just hoping they don't decide to keep the OTHER window closed. You know, the one where they let all the films go out of print until they will be rereleased FOR THE LAST TIME THIS DECADE!!!!!1 BUY NOW!!! OOPs, it is back in the vault, too bad for you. There's always eBay.
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12-06-2005 @ 9:59AM
Vejadu said...
Aren't the studios shooting themselves in the foot by shortening the window? So many people now just wait for the DVD release of a movie since going to the theater is expensive and they know it will be on DVD in 4-5 months TOPS.
If the window shrinks to the same day as the theatrical release, why would anyone go to the theater to see the movie when they can buy the DVD for less?
If they extended the window, not only would they make money off people who see the movie initially in the theater, but they would make more off of the eventual DVD sale as well. More people would see movies in the theater if the window was extended back to 6-9 months, they way it used to be.
I absolutely love the moviegoing experience and I'm afraid that due to conflicting interests in the industry, the theater industry is going to fade away.
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12-06-2005 @ 11:38AM
futureoffilm said...
Since Iger is intent on closing down movie theatres to benefit Disney's stock, the theatre chains should just refuse to show Disney films.
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12-13-2005 @ 9:00PM
Jason Anderson said...
The faster their movies come out, the faster they go into the Disney Vault for 7 years.
Anyone remember the 80's and 90's? When movies took sometimes 2 years to come to DV--er VHS?
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