Projection Room: how can one chain dispute with 2 distributors?

 

12/02/19: the story has a happy-ish ending

So, this story eventually went mainstream thanks to Simon Brew (the founder and former editor of Den of Geek) and his reporting on it over the last 2 days on his new venture Film Stories- and it’s definitely worth a look. Long story short, this dispute is very nearly over, as both parties came to an agreement on showings for How To Train Your Dragon 3, and the promotion of other Universal films has resumed on Vue’s social media channels as well as in-cinema. As for Mary Queen of Scots… well, only 43 of their cinemas are authorised to show it. Your move next, Chiswick.

The following views are those of TheJackSmit.com and not those of any employer or cinema chain. Obviously.

Back in October I wrote this piece on how Vue Entertainment’s dispute with Warner Bros. kept a big chunk of the British cinemagoing public from seeing A Star is Born. What you guys didn’t know was that this was one of the many reasons why I decided to go with the #BornIndependent campaign this year and break free from what was becoming quite a restrictive environment, because I knew it would happen again. And it has.

Once again, Vue have got themselves into some hot water over contracts, revenue splits and terms to show Mary Queen of Scots- and every Universal film that is available to pre-book at other chains. Obviously as I was associated with the Vue chain for nearly 15 years as a customer, and the last 5 years as the resident critic at one of their cinemas, I have to look at both sides of the argument, so if you’re expecting me to rip them apart, for the sake of my friends who work in various roles within that company, that ain’t gonna happen.

On one hand, this can be seen as Vue using their corporate might to send a message about how much control they have in the UK market- they do have 90 cinemas around the UK and Ireland now, making up a good 20% of the market (with Odeon and Cineworld having a little under 25% each in terms of pure market share). They’ve taken to aggressively pricing down cinemas in some areas, with their £4.99 offering currently running at 40 of their venues- all of which have some form of competition, and seriously, don’t get me started on what they’re doing to cinemagoers in Carmarthen where they have the monopoly. They pride themselves in being the first choice in their unique brand of ‘big screen entertainment’, hell, they don’t even refer to themselves as a cinema anymore. This is their way of saying to competitors that it’s the film buyers who control this industry… and believe me, that’s far from the truth.

However, like I said in October, this sort of dispute does set an alarming precedent for customers to all the major chain cinemas. It took Vue and Warner just over 11 days to come to an agreement on A Star is Born and Smallfoot- the two films affected by the crossfire last time. But this is a much bigger deal. It’s Universal we’re talking about here. And they have a huge slate on offer for 2019. This has already prompted them to stop pre-books for How To Train Your Dragon 3- which at the time of writing has some very prominent poster placement in Vue’s cinemas, and if a deal is not made in the next few days (which, let’s be honest, will only happen if hell freezes over), these cinemas will miss out on some of 2019′s biggest films, including Jordan Peele’s new film Us, The Secret Life of Pets 2, and Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs and Shaw- if they don’t get that last film, then a storm will arise amongst cinema’s key audience: the 15-24 demographic. They have, and they will, lose customers to other venues. Just a glance at the Vue Help account on Twitter tells you everything.

So, to close this up- head offices of Vue, Odeon, Cineworld and smaller chains, listen closely. For years the customer has been the central focus of this industry, but of late, you’ve focused too much on the retail side of things. It’s nice having bars, reclining seats and full renovations, but where cinemas have to impress is in the selection of films. Some people don’t care about 4 screens worth of Mary Poppins. It’s time to up your game. Independent venues like The Palace in Longridge- just 40 minutes away from the Vue cinema where I honed my craft- are upping their game, and it’s working for them exponentially. Get negotiating. Get the films we want to see on at the times that suit us. And maybe we’ll take you up on that £3.99 Monday ticket deal… wait, it’s £4.99 now? Sometimes breaking free from a place you know incredibly well feels like the best move.