Alice in Wonderland Boycott Madness Halted by ODEON

268

Share		Email

• Share
• Email

Planned boycott of Tim Burton’s new 3D movie is abandoned by ODEON.

ODEON have decided not to boycott Tim Burton’s 3D extravaganza Alice in Wonderland, having threatened to not screen the movie at all over a DVD row.

ODEON fell out with Disney when the American studios announced that they would release the DVD of Alice in Wonderland in May, just 12 weeks after the theatrical release in cinemas worldwide on 5 March.

The current industry standard is to release movies on DVD 17 weeks after the original cinema opening; however Disney were keen to push for a tighter releasing schedule in order to capitalise on the hype that the movie has generated. Disney hoped to set a new industry benchmark of 12 weeks, which it believed would rapidly become the new standard.

Had the boycott gone ahead, ODEON could have scuppered Burton’s hopes of making one of the most successful movies of the year. Building on the extraordinary achievements of Avatar in December last year, Alice in Wonderland is the first major 3D movie of 2010 which should attract significant box office success.

Burton told the BBC in an interview on the Breakfast programme how upset he was over the ODEON/Disney fracture: “I feel terrible about it. To me it doesn’t make anybody look good.” Thankfully the two media powerhouses have resolved their differences and screenings will go ahead as planned.

In a statement from ODEON, the company announced: “ODEON is pleased to announce that it will now be showing “Alice in Wonderland” beginning March 5th in its cinemas in the UK, Ireland, Italy, Germany, Portugal and Austria.”

The DVD is planned for release 13 weeks after the March cinema openings. Burton will attend the premier in Leicester Square along with stars Jonny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.