"
We need blockbusters
" in theaters, said Tuesday the Minister of Culture, Rima Abdul-Malak, welcoming Disney's confirmation of the release Disney confirms the release in French theaters of the new
Black Panther
in French cinemas .
“
Disney threatened not to release this film in theaters, which would have been a real handicap for our cinemas.
Let's not forget that these American films finance French cinema
” via the tax on tickets, continued the minister, on the sidelines of a visit to the National School of Architecture in Strasbourg.
“
These blockbusters, which bring a lot of people to our cinemas, we need
them”, she continued, while French cinemas have lost a third of their audience since the pandemic and have experienced a historic low in september.
Read alsoDisney will release Black Panther 2 in theaters on November 9
France is an exception with its strict schedule for releasing films over more than a year between cinemas, platforms and television, called media chronology and intended to protect cinemas and the diversity of creation.
This model was reformed eight months ago to integrate the platforms, but the subject remains hot.
Disney, which is seeking to promote its own Disney+ streaming offer, is calling for adjustments, notably threatening to no longer release certain blockbusters in cinemas at all.
Negotiations opened in early October, and on Monday Disney finally confirmed
Black Panther - Wakanda Forever
's November 9th big screen release.
"
The media chronology (...) cannot be a frozen block of marble
," said the minister.
Due to “
the acceleration of the platform landscape, we cannot wait two years to make it evolve
”.
The launch of discussions "
has made it possible to reassure Disney of a desire for change, even if that does not mean that we will find an agreement with him so quickly
", she added.
But it also allows "
to put an end to this blackmail on the release of certain films in theaters
".
