Last week we reported on how Odeon and Vue cinemas had decided to boycott Alice in Wonderland from their cinemas after Disney announced they wished to release Alice in Wonderland on DVD just 12 weeks after its theatrical release date. However Cineworld were keeping quiet on the issue so their press release this morning announcing they will show it seems to be more of a pressurising statement in Odeon and Vues direction than any sort of back down or reversal of opinion as it is trying to be claimed.

This morning Cineworld issued a press release saying that a a “compromise” has been reached and they will be showing Alice in Wonderland as planned. However they never ever fully commited to the boycott in the first place as they are a public company wherea Vue and Odeon are not so it seems to me that this press release has been released by Disney and Cineworld to try and coax Vue and Odeon out of their rigid boycott. Disneys say that this agreement came after Bob Chapek, Disney’s distrubution president said that this shortened release window will just be a one off case.  

Obviously Odeon and Vue are hoping for Disney to back down as they did so previuosly with Up which Disney also wanted to release on DVD two months after its cinema release but when the chains threatened to boycott A Christmas Carol, another Disney film they withdrew these plans. However the fact that Cineworld have confirmed they will be showing it means Disney are much less likely to back down hoping to pressurise Odoen and Vue to show the film or risk losing enormous sales figures.