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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The Star Trek franchise had its biggest opening yet, as Paramount’s relaunched “Star Trek” topped the North American box office this weekend with an estimated $72.5 million, giving the film a domestic total of $76.5 million (with its Thursday opening night).
“X-Men Origins: Wolverine”—which last week had the biggest opening weekend of the year so far with an $85 million debut–finished in second place with an estimated $27 million, bringing its domestic box office total to $129.6 million. Worldwide, the film has crossed the $200 million mark.
Dreamworks Animation’s first digital 3D release “Monsters versus Aliens” stayed in the top 10 in its seventh week, bringing in an additional $3.4 million as its domestic total climbed to an estimated $186.9 million and worldwide gross reached $329.9 million. The production budget for “Monsters”—still the top grossing film of the year so far–is estimated to be around $175 million.
DWA still has a few more weeks before the next wide digital 3D release, Disney/Pixar’s “Up,” opens in theaters on May 29.
After a disappointing start last week, Lionsgate’s animated 3D release “Battle for Terra” continued to struggle. This weekend it brought in an estimated $184,000 for a $1. 5 million total domestic gross.
Add two more 3D release dates to your lists: Warner Bros.’ “Happy Feet 2”—the sequel to the computer animated Oscar winner “Happy Feet”—is slated to open in 3D on Nov. 18, 2011. Meanwhile Vivendi will open the live action family adventure “Call of the Wild 3D” next month on June 12.
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(From left) G. Solomon, J. Levin, M. Christiansen and G. K. Macdowell
Las Vegas is a city known for its many spectacles; bright lights, showgirls, casinos, fancy restaurants and prize fights are all just some of the attractions. So, it should come as no surprise that ShoWest, the annual gathering of motion picture exhibitors and distributors in Las Vegas, decided to add to the city’s attractions with their own version of a prize fight. On Wednesday, the convention held a lunchtime panel discussion titled “Show Me The Money! Does Digital Self-Financing During A Credit Crisis Offer Hope?”. One might ordinarily expect a panel discussion on financing to be incredibly dry, though whenever you mix senior level studio executives with independent theatre owners and raise the topic of the stalled digital cinema rollout, you are bound to see some sparks fly.
No doubt the ShoWest panel was put together in the wake of Paramount Pictures’ direct-to-exhibitor virtual print fee announcement. Indeed, Mark Christiansen, Paramount’s Executive Vice President of Operations was one of the panel members. He was joined by Julian Levin, EVP of Digital Exhibition and Non-Theatrical Sales & Exhibition at Twentieth Century Fox, Bill Campbell, Managing Director of the Cinema Buying Group, George Solomon, Southern Theatres CEO and Andrew Sriubas, a Managing Director of JP Morgan Investment Bank. Moderating the brouhaha was the general counsel for the National Association of Theatre Owners, G. Kendrick Macdowell.
Christiansen started off by explaining that Paramount had a lot of exhibitors asking if they could install digital cinema equipment on their own, rather than rely on integrators to do so. Paramount was able to capitalize on their existing relationship with theatre owners to put the direct-to-exhibitor virtual print fee agreement together. Since the 21-page document was made public in January, the industry has been combing over it in search of any detail that might be missing. Christiansen doesn’t think they’ll find much. Read More »
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