Arts Alliance Media (AAM) has converted an exhibitor in the staunchest of anti-digital countries, France, to buy into its virtual print fee (VPF) model for deploying digital cinema. Circuit George Raymond (CGR Cinemas) will convert all of its 400 screens in the first deal of its kind that AAM has signed with a European exhibitor. The press release from AAM is as bullish as you would expect from this long awaited announcement:
CGR Cinemas is a leading and expanding cinema chain in France. The company is well known for the success of its multiplexes in many mid-size cities across the country, for the efficiency of its cost management and for its profitability. By becoming the first European cinema chain to join the AAM initiative and go fully digital, CGR Cinemas is demonstrating that it is an innovative company, ready to embrace new technology to deliver the best possible quality cinema experience.
This agreement between CGR Cinemas and AAM shows that the VPF-based business model has now been fully adapted to meet the particular requirements of the European exhibition market.
However, not everyone is convinced that the VPF model is home and dry just yet in Europe. The Hollywood Reporter’s Stuart Kemp injects a note of caution in his analysis:
AAM is hailing the move by CGR Cinemas as the clearest signal yet that virtual print fee, or VPF, agreements will eventually rule the pricing roost between exhibitors and distributors across Europe.
But at the moment, Warner Bros. and the Walt Disney Group, alongside French indie distribution players, have not yet signed up to the virtual print fee agreements brokered here by AAM. Read More
Entries RSS
