Movies could debut in your living room

HOLLYWOOD — Comcast's plan to show movies on its cable-TV systems as soon as they open in theaters has exhibitors screaming "Cut!"

Two of the nation's biggest theater chains, Regal Entertainment Group and National Amusements, said they would refuse to play such films.

"We're not interested in playing anything that makes its debut in the home and at the theater at the same time," said Michael Campbell, chief executive of Knoxville, Tenn.-based Regal, the nation's largest chain with 6,400 screens.

Stephen Burke, Comcast's cable president and chief operating officer, told an audience at an industry conference last week that several studios were "very interested" in allowing cable providers to charge $29.95 to $49.95 to watch an opening-day movie at home. He said it would increase studio revenues, if handled properly.

Until recently, debates about shrinking the four-month period between a film's theatrical and its home-video release have focused mainly on the ill effects on the box office.

Aside from generating big box-office returns such as the worldwide record $382 million opening weekend for Sony Pictures' "Spider-Man 3," theatrical releases create buzz and marketing awareness that pays off when a movie comes to DVD and pay TV, exhibitors argue.

They say simultaneous releases would erode the "magic" of the moviegoing experience and limit consumer choice by jeopardizing neighborhood theaters' viability.

"It might be good for Comcast, but I don't believe it's good for anybody else," said Shari Redstone, president of No. 5 U.S. exhibitor National Amusements in Dedham, Mass. "Everything that chips away at our revenue chips away at our ability to preserve — and improve — the moviegoing experience."

Comcast, which has more than 500,000 cable-television customers in the Seattle area, has made several independent releases such as titles from the Independent Film Channel, or IFC, available on demand right away, but the idea of trying the same strategy with a blockbuster alarms exhibitors.

A summer lineup of franchise films is leading analysts and theater owners to predict that U.S.-Canada box office this year could top $10 billion for the first time.

At the industry gathering, Burke anticipated the irate reaction of exhibitors. "I'm sure some movie theaters won't like the added competition," he said. "But at the end of the day, it's about giving consumers what they want. Anybody who doesn't do that is going to get left behind." Burke declined to comment further.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert Iger and a Paramount Pictures spokeswoman said their studios are not discussing the idea with Comcast. Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures declined to comment.

Seattle Times staff contributed to this report.