LFrench cinemas are deprived of the next animated film from the American giant Disney. The studio announced on Wednesday that the blockbuster Strange World would be broadcast directly on its online platform, Disney+, at the end of 2022. echoes the French president of Disney, Hélène Etzi. The decision will only apply in France.
The media timeline governs when movies can be released, including streaming and TV, in the months following their theatrical release. According to the new agreement reached at the end of January, platforms that have not signed this agreement, including Disney +, must wait 17 months before being able to broadcast their films after their cinema release. They still pass in front of the free television channels, the latter still broadcasting the films 22 months after the theatrical release.
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The purpose of this device is to protect cinemas, by giving them the scoop, but also the channels and broadcasters who finance the cinema. France is thus seeking to preserve the diversity of its film production, to which the various governments have remained attentive.
An “unfair” and “unacceptable” decision
In a press release sent to Agence France-Presse, the general delegate of the National Federation of French Cinemas, Marc-Olivier Sebbag, denounces a “totally unacceptable decision”, “terribly unfair” and asks Disney to reconsider this choice. He calls on the public authorities to allow “a rapid resolution of this major problem for (the) sector”.
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In other countries, films can generally be broadcast on platforms a month and a half after their theatrical release. The American entertainment giant also complains of an exclusivity window of only “five months” before seeing its film switch to free channels. For now, alone Strange World is concerned, specified Hélène Etzi to the echoes.
The output of Buzz LightningDisney animated feature film and version of the saga Toy Story, is scheduled in theaters on June 22. On the other hand, nothing has been decided at this stage for Black Panther or the new Avatar, two big productions on which theaters rely to improve attendance figures at half mast. “We continue to assess the situation film by film and country by country”, commented the president France of Disney.