Edgar Wright is criticizing Disney for reportedly locking away Fox movies in its vault. The multimedia conglomerate has grown substantially in size over the past several years, due in large part to its recent purchase of 21st Century Fox in a massive, 11-figure deal.
In addition to major new acquisitions, Disney is also preparing for the release of its subscription streaming service Disney+ in a matter of weeks. Countless classic films and television series are now part of the House of Mouse. Because of this impressive roster, Star Wars, the Marvel Cinematic Universe, National Geographic documentary series, and The Simpsons will all stream on Disney+. However, Disney may not make all of its new content as readily available to film fans. Rumors have circulated for months that Disney was denying for-profit movie theaters' requests to screen classic 21st Century Fox films such as Planet of the Apes and The Omen. When theater owners and film festival programmers spoke out, many filmmakers and directors criticized Disney on Twitter.
So far, this troubling situation has garnered the attention of the filmmaker behind Shaun of the Dead and Baby Driver. Wright first spoke out when the news broke earlier this month. Unfortunately, the issue remains relevant, as Disney continues to deny requests from small, repertory cinemas to screen classics such as The Omen, The Fly, Suspiria, Alien, Aliens, and The Princess Bride. Still greatly troubled by these actions on the part of Disney, Wright has again taken to Twitter to condemn the practice of locking away films in a vault. Re-emphasizing the importance of making these films available for the public to view, Wright tweeted in defense of classic movie screenings.
Locking away 21st Century Fox films in the Disney vault may make financial sense, but it doesn't benefit film lovers or theater owners. In response to Wright's tweet, Matt Zoller Seitz, the Vulture writer who originally broke the story, added, "I think it's a case where they're doing what Disney has traditionally done, and not really giving much consideration to whether that actually makes financial or PR sense." If Disney does restrict access to classic Fox films, the end result could be catastrophic for repertory theatres, especially since the movie theater industry has struggled in the streaming era. Unfortunately, there's not much that theater owners can do about the situation, even with the support of a major director like Wright. Disney is simply too powerful for theater owners to exert much leverage.
For its part, Disney has kept silent about the situation. Some fans believe that Disney is doing this in order to create demand for the films – just as they have with their own animated titles over the years. Disney has previously kept animated classics in its vault, rarely screening them in theatres, then eventually releasing a limited edition of the title on DVD or Blu Ray. With Disney+ on the way, however, this strategy could be aimed at bringing in more subscribers interested in the content that only Disney has access to.
Source: Edgar Wright