Everyone appears to be ecstatic for the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the next chapter in the Skywalker saga, save theaters across the country that are subjected to Disney’s lofty demands. Via The Wall Street Journal, cinemas that wish to screen the upcoming Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi will have to agree to Disney’s secret term that involves having to fork up 65 percent of ticket sales to the mouse in addition to promising to screen the film in its largest auditorium for four weeks, at minimum. And if a theater is caught violating this clause? The theater owner will be demanded to give up an additional five percent of ticket sales to Disney.
In response to these demands, quite of few theaters will not screen The Last Jedi at all, deeming Disney’s powerplay “the most onerous” clause they’ve ever encountered. My initial reaction is to side with this assertion. I’m not too keen on cinema economics, but Disney’s unprecedented box office success has to be taken into account.
The last entry in the saga, Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens made $936 million domestically. Despite the clause that accompanied its release, which was 64% of revenue and two weeks guaranteed screening in the respective chain’s biggest theatre, theaters that screened the movie came out of the deal with a ton of money. A refusal to screen The Last Jedi is justified for smaller cinemas with a limited number of screens. Otherwise, Disney’s terms are vindicated by the likelihood that The Last Jedi is going to bring in exceptional business. After all, veritably everything Disney puts out usually turns out to bring exceptional business. Though one could argue it’s the big corporation fucking the little man, it's also fiscal logic.
The Last Jedi probably won’t make quite as much as The Force Awakens—its $2 billion blockbuster run was fortified by that fact that in addition to being a Star Wars film, it was the first Star Wars film in three decades. The Last Jedi has Mark Hamill and the farewell sentiment of the late great Carrie Fisher to ensure it does a little better than your average tentpole blockbuster. Still, The financial success garnered by Disney for any given project, particularly in the last decade, is established beyond doubt. If any studio has earned the right to squeeze a little more juice out of the North American market (where Star Wars is by far the most popular), it's Disney.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi hits theatres on Dec. 14.
