Problems With "Avatar" In Germany
It was bound to happen. With James Cameron’s 3D epic “Avatar” being released on more than 16,000 screens in 122 countries on December 18th, surely there would be a few snafus. One Deluxe insider claimed “Avatar” marked the first movie title for which they shipped more hard drives with digital cinema packages (DCPs) than 35mm prints. So whether it was a faulty server, malfunctioning projector or invalid key, a few dark screens or missed screenings seemed inevitable. And with the enormous amount of promotion and hype surrounding “Avatar’s” release there were thousands of sold out auditoriums making whatever problems that cropped up difficult to hide.
Few would have predicted that such issues would be caused by humans, rather than technical errors. But that’s just what happened in Germany during the first few hours of “Avatar’s” release. Apparently upwards of 70 screens were unable to play the film in digital 3D because they had not received the keys, or received the wrong keys. The problem affected theatres run by Cinestar and Cinemaxx in cities such as Eisenhuettenstadt, Mainz, Garbsen and Berlin. Audiences that had shown up for the first showings of the film were told they could see the film in 2D or were offered a refund.
It should come as no surprise that news of the dark screens spread rapidly in mainstream media, especially in the tech press. Outlets such as The Register and Heise ran stories that faulted Deluxe Digital, the service provider Twentieth Century Fox used to distribute both 35mm and digital prints. However, having seen first hand the amount of resources, energy and effort Deluxe put into the release of “Avatar” it is highly unlikely that they somehow managed to bungle the key delivery. More probable is that one of Fox’s field offices neglected to relay some last minute playdates they had managed to secure.
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