French theaters are deprived of the next animated film from the American giant Disney. The studio announced on Wednesday that the blockbuster Strange World will be released directly on its online platform, Disney, at the end of 2022. to the expectations of our audiences, ”Disney France President Hélène Etzi told Les Échos. 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 theatrical release. They still pass in front of the free television channels, the latter still broadcasting the films 22 months after the theatrical release.
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 public authorities to allow “a rapid resolution of this major problem for (the) sector”.
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, only Strange World is concerned, Hélène Etzi told Les Echos.
The release of Buzz Lightyear, Disney’s animated feature film and version of the Toy Story saga, is scheduled for release 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 are counting to improve the attendance figures at half mast. “We continue to assess the situation on a film-by-film and country-by-country basis,” commented Disney’s France president.
