By: Dominic Jones
Star Wars: The Last Jedi comes out next month and Disney has found themselves in something of a scrape with movie theaters over the new terms they are forcing theaters to agree to in order to screen The Last Jedi this December. While the terms are meant to be top secret, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that they include the filming being played in the theater's largest auditorium for a minimum of four weeks and that Disney receive 65% of revenue from ticket sales (up from their usual 64%). In addition, if the theaters violate these terms they would have to give Disney an additional 5% of the ticket revenue (bringing Disney's total cut to 70%).
While the major theater chains are expected to agree to the terms, some independent theaters in smaller markets are considering boycotting the film. This is due mainly to the requirement that the film be played in the theater's biggest auditorium for four weeks, which is problematic for theaters with only one or two auditoriums that want to show other films (such as Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Pitch Perfect 3) over the holiday season.
For fans, this likely won't mean much to most of us when we go to see The Last Jedi. But with box office numbers down in general this year it makes you wonder what the long term effects of this sort of strong-arming of the theaters by the studios will have. Not to mention the impact on smaller theaters and the fans who go to those theaters to get their Star Wars fix.
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