Transit Drive-In in Lockport is one of hundreds of theatres across the country that are refusing to meet the demands of Disney in showings of the new movie "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Two."  The sequel is set to debut Friday at theatres, but Transit Drive-In won't be one of them.

Transit Drive-In says Disney is being unreasonable in requiring a higher percentage of ticket sales and demanding a longer playing time and directing what co-features to play along with it.

A statement on Transit Drive-In's Facebook said in part;

Over the past several days, we have been in ongoing discussions, through our movie buying agent, with Walt Disney Pictures on playing their new superhero movie coming out on May 5, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.

Unfortunately, we were not able to come to an agreement on a deal which we felt was fair, on the basis of industry standards and precedents. To summarize, the deal being offered to us as "take it or leave it" was the highest percentage of ticket sales that we have ever been asked to pay for any previous movie from any other studio, and would have set a terrible precedent for future negotiations on other movies with other studios.

Many theatres are simply saying no to Disney's demands.  Drive-In's especially can't afford it.  If they're forced to pay higher rental fees, they'll have to charge more for tickets.

Disney is asking 15 percent more than what usually would be charged and instead of a standard two-week long run, Disney is requiring three to four weeks of play time.  Essentially that means less time for other movies and in areas like this where the drive-in movie season is so short, that could be devastating to business.

On top of all of that, Disney is requiring drive-ins to couple "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Two" with a nature documentary called ‘Born in China’ highlighting monkeys, pandas and leopards.

You won't be seeing the Disney movie at Transit Drive-In, but here are the theatres that "Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume Two" will be shown:

  • Regal Elmwood Center 16 - Buffalo
  • Regal Walden Galleria Stadium 16 - Cheektowaga
  • AMC Maple Ridge 8 - Amherst
  • Regal Quaker Crossing Stadium 18 - Orchard Park
  • Dipson Flix Stadium 10 - Lancaster
  • Regal Transit Center Stadium 18 and IMAX - Clarence
  • Palace Hamburg - Hamburg
  • Regal Niagara Falls Stadium 12 - Niagara Falls

 

 

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