Comcast Corp.'s plan to show movies on its cable TV systems as soon as they open in theaters has exhibitors screaming "Cut!"
Two of the nation's biggest theater chains, Regal Entertainment Group and National Amusements Inc., said they would refuse to play films made available in the home simultaneously.
"We're not interested in playing anything that makes its debut in the home and at the theater at the same time," said Michael L. Campbell, chief executive of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal, the nation's largest chain with 6,400 screens.
Stephen Burke, Comcast's cable president and chief operating officer, told an audience at an industry conference this week that several studios were "very interested" in the idea of allowing cable providers to charge $29.95 to $49.95 to watch an opening-day movie at home. He said it would increase studio revenues rather than cannibalize them, if handled properly.
Until recently, debates about shrinking the four-month-long period between a film's theatrical and its home video release have focused mainly on the ill effects on the box office.
Aside from generating big box-office returns like the worldwide record $382-million opening weekend for Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man 3," theatrical releases create buzz and marketing awareness that pays off when a movie later comes to DVD and pay TV, exhibitors argue.
They say simultaneous releases would erode the "magic" of the moviegoing experience, making film and television programming look the same.
And by siphoning business from the box office, they say, simultaneous releases would limit consumer choice by jeopardizing neighborhood theaters' viability.
"It might be good for Comcast, but I don't believe it's good for anybody else," said Shari Redstone, president of No. 5 U.S. exhibitor National Amusements Inc. in Dedham, Mass. "Everything that chips away at our revenue chips away at our ability to preserve -- and improve -- the moviegoing experience."
Comcast has made several independent releases such as titles from IFC available on demand right away, but the idea of trying the same strategy with a blockbuster such as "Spider-Man 3" is what alarms exhibitors. The controversy comes as a summer lineup of franchise films is leading bullish analysts and theater owners to predict that U.S.-Canada box office this year could top $10 billion for the first time.
