Update: Odeon – Britain’s largest cinema chain – has confirmed that they will not be screening “Alice In Wonderland” in the UK, Ireland and Italy. The chain says Disney’s shortened release window is particularly egregious given the expense of upgrading theaters to handle digital projection. All is not lost for Disney, as they have deals in place with Vue and Cineworld which will ensure the film will still hit theaters as planned.
With the film already screening for critics and scheduled to hit theaters on March 5th, Disney has a bit of a distracting issue on their hands.
As we previously reported, the studio has decided to not only shorten the theatrical window for “Alice In Wonderland” but are planning to release the film on DVD/BluRay this summer. In Europe, UK chains Vue Entertainment and Odeon Cinemas are vowing not to the show the film unless Disney backs down, with other territories set to follow suit.
Now the issue has come stateside with AMC now threatening to block the film from their screens. Disney and the second largest theater chain in the United States, still haven’t reached an agreement with March 5th less than two weeks away. It’s expected that the two sides will hash things out in time for kids to get skullfucked by Tim Burton’s 3D special effects, but if they don’t, some accountants over at the Magic Kingdom might want to hide under their desks.
"Boycott" is the wrong word. "Embargo" would be better. Boycotts are generally staged by smaller groups trying to make a political statement through organized action and self-deprivation. The Montgomery Bus Boycott would be an example, in which elderly African-American domestics walked miles to work rather than patronize a racist transportation system. Or more recently, gay groups' boycotting of Cinemark theaters, a chain that funded the anti-gay Proposition 8. But a big greedy corporation punishing theatergoers because they're mad they can't suck even more money out of their consumers during a recession does not count as boycott. It is greed and bad behavior, which has the added benefit of creating publicity for both the film and the theater.