This is information that has had the effect of a bomb in the battle that the streaming platforms and the actors of French cinema have been fighting for months. The American cinema giant Disney announced on Wednesday June 8 that it would deprive French cinemas of its next animated film, Strange Worldto broadcast this blockbuster directly on its online platform at the end of 2022.
“It is the consequence of the ‘media chronology’ as practiced in France that we consider unfair, restrictive and unsuited to the expectations of our audiences”declared to the newspaper Les Echos the president France 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
thus seeks to preserve the diversity of its film production, to which the various governments have remained attentive.
In a statement sent to AFP, the general delegate of the National Federation of French Cinemas, Marc-Olivier Sebbag, denounces a “totally unacceptable decision”, “terribly unfair” and asks Disney to come back to
this choice.
It calls on public authorities to allow “a quick resolution to this problem
major for (the) sector”. In other countries, films can generally be released 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, said Ms. Etzi to Les Echos. The release of “Buzz Lightyear”, Disney’s animated feature film and version of the saga Toy Story, is slated for theaters on June 22. On the other hand, nothing has been decided at this stage for Black Panther or the new Avatartwo 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.