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Odeon Confirm that they Will Boycott Alice in Wonderland in UK Cinemas

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Well, it would seem that Odeon aren’t as ‘Fanatical about Film’ as their logo might suggest and that it is indeed more about the bottom line as they’ve decided not to show one of the biggest movies of the year to make a point!

There were rumours a couple of weeks ago that big chain cinemas will be boycotting Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. This will be a major set back for the movie that has an all star cast which includes Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska Matt Lucas, Alan Rickman, and a whole host of other British stars.

Unfortunately the rumours were true as today, the UK’s biggest cinema chain, Odeon have confirmed that they will be boycotting the movie to “set a new benchmark”. The reason for the boycott is that usually, films are in the cinema and then, 18 weeks later, are released onto DVD giving them more time to sell tickets in the cinemas. Disney announced that there would only be a 12 week window between the release of the movie in the cinema until it was out on DVD. As you can see in this image to the right that Jon took, Supermarket chain Morrisons is already advertising the sale of the DVD and Blu ray and the movie isn’t even out in the cinema!

The BBC have said that Cineworld have reached a deal with Disney to show the movie so now we have to see if Vue follow Odeon’s example and decide to boycott it also. If they do, you’ll struggle to see the movie in a 3d cinema as combined, they control 95% of 3d screens. This is sad news for us, the consumer.

You can hear us discussing this on the latest HeyUGuys Mouth Off Podcast here.

As a sideline, Alice in Wonderland Royal World Premiere is on Thursday and HeyUGuys will be there bringing you all the info from the red carpet. You’ll also be able to watch the red carpet footage live on HeyUGuys as it will be streamed.

***Update – 17:47 GMT***

The BBC website has just been updated to announce that Vue are set to reach a deal with Disney to show Alice in Wonderland with details to be released shortly.

6 COMMENTS

  1. I can't believable they will do that!! How we fans will see the movie???
    Im a big fan of Odeon Cinemas and i really want to watch it there!! But now i have to travel to Cineworld to watch the movie!! And im really sad!! How you can miss that Odeaon??? Your such of idiots!! Whats the matter if DVD comes out more earlier? It important are the first weeks!! Because people will see it first 3 weeks not 5 ot 6??? You have to show it!! PLEASE!!

  2. Please forgive me if this shows my ignorance of such things…. but I really can't see what Odeon seeks to achieve from this? If their issue is with the fact that people can see the film on DVD earlier than usual and as such may just chose to wait rather than seeing it in the cinema, how exactly is boycotting the film going to prevent this? If the film is meant to be seen in 3D then surely that goes in their favour as people are more likely to want to see it on the big screen! I know I would much rather spend £6 or £7 on a cinema ticket than £12 on a DVD I might not want to watch again. It's just so simple I wonder if I am missing something??!!!

  3. It's really more about future releases. If they boycott one of the biggest films of the year, they have set a president for future releases.

    As the biggest cinema chain in the UK, they can control what we see from the studios. If they don't want to show a film, they don't have to. It's their prerogative but it's us, the consumer who misses out.

  4. i think that you stupid people should wait to see it on dvd and stop paying 20 friggen dollars to go see it for 2 hours in a movie theatre. find something else to complain about it

  5. Everyone is in business to make money. I don't think Odeon should be blamed as Disney is the one trying to increase revenue at Odeon's expense. Cinemas have only a limited window of opportunity to make money from ticket sales (from memory cinemas get the sales some time after it opens (the studios get opening sales)).

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