The American cinema giant Disney has decided to deprive French theaters of its next animated film,
Strange World
, to broadcast this blockbuster directly on its online platform at the end of 2022, he said on Wednesday June 8.
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Disney thus confirms information given to the specialized American website
Deadline
and to the daily newspaper
Les Échos
.
"It is the consequence of the" media chronology "as practiced in France that we consider unfair, restrictive and unsuited to the expectations of our audiences",
declared to Les Échos the France president of Disney, Hélène Etzi.
The decision will only apply in France.
The media timeline governs when movies can be released, including streaming and television, in the months following their theatrical release.
According to the new agreement reached at the end of January, platforms that have not signed this agreement, including Disney +, must wait 17 months before being able to broadcast their films.
They still pass in front of the free television channels, the latter still broadcasting the films 22 months after the theatrical release.
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The purpose of this device is to protect cinemas, by giving them the scoop, but also the channels and broadcasters who finance the cinema.
France is thus seeking to preserve the diversity of its film production, to which the various governments have remained attentive.
In other countries, films can generally be released on platforms a month and a half after their theatrical release.
The American entertainment giant also complains of an exclusivity window of only “five months” before seeing its film switch to free channels.
For the moment, only
Strange World
is concerned, clarified Hélène Etzi to
Echoes
.
The theatrical release of
Buzz Lightyear
, Disney's animated feature film and version of the
Toy Story
saga , is scheduled for June 22.
On the other hand, nothing is planned at this stage for
Black Panther
or the new
Avatar
, two big productions on which cinemas are counting to improve the attendance figures at half mast.
"We are continuing to assess the situation film by film and country by country,"
commented the French president of Disney.
