Fox Film distribution and the European market in relation to Night at the Museum

Reading Time: 2 minutesFox and UK cinemas fighting

I have just read that a few cinema chains in the United Kingdom are pulling Night at the museum from the cinemas. They became angry after Fox distributors decided to release the film just three months after the cinema release.

From a media student’s point of view, this is an interesting development. What early adopters have found is that they can get content as soon as the film has been out for a few hours/days. For those with the technological know-how, this means that they can ignore film releases and watch the film as soon as they hear about itâ€ s release.

As a counter to this problem new measures are being taken, for example, the simultaneous release of certain films in cinemas around the world on the same day in order to encourage people to go to the cinema rather than download the content for free online.

For the film industry, this is bad news because it means that they have to find new ways of preventing the illegal distribution of the content they have produced.

Whilst I think that the release of the DVD of Night at the museum is a good idea I fail to understand the logic in releasing the DVD whilst the film is still in the cinemas. Theyâ€ re undercutting the European cinema industry. Itâ€ s not surprising that Europe is angry.

The distribution of films is expensive. They have to take the film reels and ship them around the world. From a logistical point of view, it’s a nightmare both in terms of cost and time. Digital distribution is a good possibility but an investment for the cinema chains is high and the training of the staff would take time.

What does this mean, Will it encourage the cinema chains to invest in new technology which would make having the most recent films available within a shorter amount of time, or will they lobby for the proper distribution times to respect?