Disney, Theater Chains Fight over DVDs in Movieland Dilemma
Theaters threaten to boycott Alice in Wonderland in response to Disney's new effort to boost DVD sales with some earlier releases
By Ronald Grover
The Walt Disney Co. (DIS) may have narrowly escaped its own Alice in Wonderland moment. Two days before the Feb. 25 London premiere of director Tim Burton's $150 million film, Disney executives were scrambling to strike deals with Britain's largest theater chains—including the one hosting the big event—to get the film on screen. To overcome the chains' objections to Disney's plan to accelerate the DVD release of Alice, a move that could depress box-office sales, the Burbank (Calif.) company agreed in one deal it struck to limit the number of films that will get early DVD releases.
