Walt Disney Co.'s decision to release Black Widow simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ has caused some major tension between the House of Mouse and movie theater chains across the United States.
Worried about surviving in a post-pandemic world, a group of theater owners is reportedly considering ways to push back at Disney, sources tell The Wall Street Journal. "We haven't made any threats," AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc. Chief Executive Adam Aron revealed to the publication. He added, however, that "it is widely known that AMC has threatened not to play movies if we could not find business terms that we found acceptable."
While Disney declined to comment about its current relationship with theater chains, the company said in the announcement about Black Widow's release that it was happy to provide consumers with more to safely see the film.
Tensions between Disney and theaters across North American appeared to reach a boiling point following the announcement that Raya and the Last Dragon would be released in both theaters and on the Disney+ streaming platform in March.
Tony Beaverson, who owns Big Horn Cinemas in Cody, Wyoming, said at the time, "I'm playing Raya, but that's probably the last Disney title I'm going to play." Meanwhile, Cinemark Holdings Inc. -- America's third-largest theater chain -- opted to boycott Raya. Harkins Theatres, which has more than 30 domestic locations, also chose to not screen the movie, and Cineworld Group PLC's Regal Entertainment Group didn't offer Raya at most of its locations.
Beaverson added that the titles available in July will play a major role in whether he will get behind pushing back on Disney's Black Widow release. Other films currently scheduled to hit theaters ahead of Black Widow include the Fast & Furious sequel F9 on June 25 and Top Gun: Maverick on July 2. "We'll take it as it comes," he said. "I have to think about the town that I'm living in and my business…people want to watch it [on the big screen]."
Sources close to the situation confirm that Disney previously secured a higher percentage of ticket sales from theaters during the windows they exclusively showed movies. When Disney offers movies on its digital platform, it can keep all of the revenue, meaning theaters miss out on a massive amount of the profits they would normally bring in.
This isn't the first time that theaters have expressed frustration with Disney. Back in 2013, AMC and Regal refused to sell online tickets to Iron Man 3 after Disney demanded a higher share of ticket sales. While the issue was ultimately resolved, the terms of the agreement were never disclosed. Disney also caused waves when it required theaters to pay 65 percent of ticket-sales revenue, more than the traditional 50-50 split theaters are used to, for 2017's Star Wars: The Last Jedi.
"We feel what they've done was a contradiction of their previously expressed belief in the importance of the theatrical experience and suggests to us that they are an unreliable partner of exhibition," said Byron Berkley, president of the Independent Cinema Alliance, a trade association of independent theater operators.
While Disney hasn't released online sales data for the two films it has offered on Disney+ via its Premier Access fee, it also plans to release its live-action Cruella in theaters and on Disney+ for an extra $29.99 on May 28.
Black Widow stars Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova, David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov/Red Guardian, O-T Fagbenle as Mason and Rachel Weisz as Melina Vostokoff. The film arrives in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access July 9.
Source: WSJ